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Pennsylvania
Supreme
Court
Nixes
Random
Drug
Searches
on
Interstate
Buses
10/7/00
Pennsylvania state drug investigators had a routine. They would randomly board a passenger bus at a bus
depot -- the massive rest area at Breezewood on Interstate 70 on the Maryland
border was a favorite target -- ask passengers to pair up with their luggage,
and then ask to search the bags. If a passenger did not claim a bag,
police would have the bus driver declare it abandoned property, then they
would open it in search of drugs and clues to the owner's identity.
The technique was effective,
police claimed, leading to numerous arrests.
But the state Supreme Court,
ruling in Commonwealth v. Belisario Polo, has found that the random searches
violate provisions in the state constitution that protect people from unreasonable
or warrantless searches and seizures.
Justice Stephen Zappala cited
the court's opinion in a 1996 case, Commonwealth vs. Matos, writing that
"the seriousness of criminal activity under investigation, whether it is
the sale of drugs or the commission of a violent crime, can never be used
as justification for ignoring or abandoning the constitutional right...
to be free from intrusions upon... personal liberty absent probable cause."
The court has nine similar
cases pending before it, but state Attorney General Mike Fisher has apparently
seen the writing on the wall. His office is reviewing the opinion
and considering new investigative guidelines to keep drug investigators
within the law.
"We will make appropriate
modifications to our ongoing interdiction efforts to adhere to that opinion,"
Fisher spokesman Kevin Harley told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.
-- END --
|
Issue #154, 10/7/00
Tulia: Drug Warriors Decimate Texas Town's Black Community, But Fight is Just Beginning | Crisis Bolivia Continues: Government Yields on Military Bases After US Signals Assent, Farmers Still Demanding Personal Coca Plots | Vancouver 2.0: Politicians Unveil New Agreement to Deal With Hard Drug Scene, but Tensions Continue to Rise | Legal Marijuana Use in Switzerland: Cabinet Gives Okay, Next Step is Parliamentary Approval | Canadian Government Will Legalize Medical Marijuana Use | Rolling Stone Magazine Features Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Higher Education Act Reform Campaign | Internships at DRCNet | Texas Journey for Jubilee Justice Ends in Austin | Pennsylvania Supreme Court Nixes Random Drug Searches on Interstate Buses | Hemp Voter Guide and Registration Tools Online at VoteHemp.com | The Reformer's Calendar | Editorial: "Cocaine Has Never Been an Added Ingredient in Coca-Cola"
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