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speak for dog), came into the room and the dog sniffed the property, including the currency,

spread out on the table. After a few moments, the officer with the dog said thats it them

money.

The senior officer then asked your son more pointed questions Did he deal drugs? Did he

know anyone he did? When was the last time he bought cocaine or marijuana? Your sonbecame increasingly nervous, which only made the officer press harder with the questions. After

a few moments, your son asked, Do I need a lawyer? To which the officer replied, I dont

know. Do you think you need a lawyer? Have you done something wrong?

After a few more minutes, the officer gathered up the currency, placed it into another plastic bag

with a tag, and, after copying your sons identification, told him he was free to go.

Your son was free to go. But his money was staying. The officers had seized the currency and

would be forwarding their seizure affidavit to the district attorneys office and a Notice of

Seizure and a Petition would be filed in which the State would allege that the currency was

contraband and subject to forfeiture under Chapter 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

A significant percentage of paper currency contains high traces of cocaine, and it is not necessary

for the money to come into direct contact with the drug.

One study found that paper currency in the United States contained an average of between 2.9

and 28.8 micrograms of cocaine depending on the year and city, with a maximum of more than

1,300 micrograms found on some 1996 bills. A gram of cocaine would fill about half a tea bag.

A microgram is one-millionth of that amount.

And, besides traces of narcotics, paper money is contaminated with other things, such as disease

causing bacteria. One past study revealed ninety four percent (94%) of one dollar bills collectedfrom a community in western Ohio contained disease-causing or potentially disease-causing

bacteria. The study, published in 2002 in the Southern Medical Journal, was led by Peter Ender,

chief of infectious diseases at Wright-Patterson Medical Center in Ohio.

Whether its contamination by narcotics or deadly bacteria, its not surprising since dollar bills in

the United States stay in circulation for an average of 21 months, according to the U.S. Bureau of

Engraving and Printing, during which time they get handled by plenty of people. For larger bills,

the life span is even longer, with twenty dollar bills lasting about 24 months and fifties staying in

circulation for 55 months.

So, during those time periods, who else has handled your money besides you and the bank

cashier? If it was a drug dealer or user, then traces of narcotics will most likely remain on the

currency. And, that could cause you a problem when the police call for the drug sniffing dog

after they find a large amount of currency in your vehicle, in your baggage, or in your pocket.

Thankfully, appeals courts have held that possession of a large sum of money is not illegal in and

of itself.

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In many cases where currency is seized, the State relies on a drug dog's alert as to the presence

of narcotics or traces of narcotics on paper money. But, it is important to remember that, under

the law, a drug dog's alert is just probable cause to continue investigating, not conclusive proof

the money has been exposed to a controlled substance. Even if the dog had actually alerted on

the money itself, rather than on a vehicle and on a location where wrappings from the money had

been placed.

Drug dogs, though widely used by law enforcement, are not infallible and, in fact, are often

susceptible to false-positive alerts. When evaluating a drug dogs alert to contraband, one

must consider a number of factors, including the subjectivity of interpreting the drug dog's alert,

the subjectivity of the dog, and the inability to cross-examine the dog to challenge his findings.