No. 25-7007
Steven Tilden Fellmy v. United States
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: criminal-procedure fourth-amendment police-canine search-and-seizure vehicle-search warrantless-search
Latest Conference:
2026-04-17
Question Presented (from Petition)
I. Is the act of a police canine placing its paws on the paint and window sills of a car to stick its nose inside a car to sniff, and, after the canine handler specifically told the canine to "up", a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
II. Can a police canine that is too small to perform its duties properly be given a pass to violate the Fourth Amendment?
Question Presented (AI Summary)
Whether a police canine's placement of its paws on a vehicle's exterior surfaces to conduct a warrantless sniff constitutes a Fourth Amendment violation, and whether a canine handler's deliberate direction of an undersized canine to perform such a search provides justification for the intrusion
Docket Entries
2026-03-26
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/17/2026.
2026-03-24
Waiver of United States of right to respond submitted.
2026-03-24
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2026-03-06
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 10, 2026)
Attorneys
Steven Fellmy
Jeffrey C. Rager — Rager Law Firm, Petitioner
United States
D. John Sauer — Solicitor General, Respondent