374. Dog Tracking Evidence

You have received evidence about the use of a tracking dog. You may not conclude that the defendant is the person who committed the crime based only on the fact that a dog indicated the defendant [or a location]. Before you may rely on dog tracking evidence, there must be:

1. Evidence of the dog's general reliability as a tracker;

AND

2. Other evidence that the dog accurately followed a trail that led to the person who committed the crime. This other evidence does not need to independently link the defendant to the crime.

In deciding the meaning and importance of the dog tracking evidence, consider the training, skill, and experience, if any, of the dog, its trainer, and its handler, together with everything else that you learned about the dog's work in this case.

Bench Notes

Instructional Duty

The court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on tracking dogs whenever they are used to prove the identity of a defendant. (People v. Malgren (1983) 139 Cal.App.3d 234, 241 [188 Cal.Rptr. 569], disapproved on other grounds in People v. Jones (1991) 53 Cal.3d 1115, 1144 [282 Cal.Rptr. 465, 811 P.2d 757].)

Authority

Instructional Requirements. People v. Craig (1978) 86 Cal.App.3d 905, 917-918 [150 Cal.Rptr. 676].

Dog Tracking Evidence Need Not Be Viewed With Caution. People v. Malgren (1983) 139 Cal.App.3d 234, 241 [188 Cal.Rptr. 569], disapproved on other grounds in People v. Jones (1991) 53 Cal.3d 1115, 1144 [282 Cal.Rptr. 465, 811 P.2d 757].

Corroboration Requirement. People v. Gonzales (1990) 218 Cal.App.3d 403, 410 [267 Cal.Rptr. 138].

Secondary Sources

1 Witkin California Evidence (4th ed. 2000) Opinion Evidence, § 77.

3 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 71, Scientific and Expert Evidence, § 71.04[1][d][ii] (Matthew Bender).

(New January 2006)