Two federal lawsuits are challenging an investigative tool beloved by law enforcement: a bloodhound’s nose, reports USA Today. Cases in Victoria, Tx., allege that Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Pikett and his team of hounds – James Bond, Quincy and Clue – failed controversial sniff tests known as “scent lineups.” The dogs link human scents left at crime scenes to samples from suspects.
In each case, the suits allege, Pikett’s dogs called attention to the wrong person. Both former suspects have been cleared. The legal challenges are “a first for us,” says Randall Morse, a county attorney representing Pikett. He says the hounds have worked about 2,000 cases across the U.S., including the search for Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph.