Judge rules 17-second traffic-stop extension for marijuana search unlawful

A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled that a sheriff’s deputy violated a driver’s Fourth Amendment rights by extending a traffic stop by 17 seconds for a drug-dog inspection that led to marijuana and a firearm being found.^[1] In an October 29 ruling, U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller granted partial summary judgment for Brian Burnside, finding Marquette County Sheriff’s Deputy Brendan Cutrell unlawfully prolonged the stop without reasonable suspicion.^[1] The judge rejected the deputy’s claim of qualified immunity, leaving only financial damages for trial.^[1] Burnside had faced state criminal charges that were dismissed after he challenged the search, and he filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Cutrell and Marquette County in February 2025.^[1]

The case arose from a December 9, 2023 stop on Interstate 39 in Marquette County after Cutrell saw Burnside driving about 89 miles per hour.^[1] Cutrell issued citations for speeding and illegal window tint but also called a K-9 unit to pursue suspected drugs in the vehicle.^[1] The dog began inspecting at 10:57:16 p.m., Cutrell finished explaining the citations at 10:57:24 p.m., and the dog alerted at 10:57:41 p.m., creating the 17-second extension.^[1] The later search found a pistol, ammunition, an open bottle of whiskey and a bag of marijuana that tested positive for THC.^[1]

The judge rejected the deputy’s cited grounds including speeding, tinted windows, cologne smell, nervousness and the Wausau to Wisconsin Dells route as mostly common behaviors showing little criminal activity.^[1] The decision applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Rodriguez v. United States rule that police generally cannot extend a completed stop for a dog sniff without independent reasonable suspicion.^[1] The judge found the stop’s legitimate purpose ended when citation explanations finished, making the roughly 17-second continued detention unconstitutional.^[1] The court held the protection was clearly established by the 2023 stop, so Cutrell could not use qualified immunity, and damages will be decided at trial.^[1]