Cannabis News Marijuana Policy Project
  High Court Considers Drug Searches
Posted by FoM on April 16, 2002 at 09:29:27 PT
By Anne Gearan, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Associated Press  

justice The Supreme Court was urged Tuesday to spell out bus passengers' rights when police come on board to search them for weapons and drugs. Justices are reviewing the conviction of two Greyhound bus passengers in a case that asks whether public transportation users may feel coerced into agreeing to searches.

A Bush administration lawyer argued that the officers did nothing wrong in the 1999 Florida arrests and that searches are important for safe travel. "Buses in today's environment are vulnerable, vulnerable to specific public safety concerns," said Larry D. Thompson, deputy attorney general.

With changes in airline safety checks after Sept. 11, some people might not realize they have a right to refuse to be searched, Justice Stephen Breyer said.

Gwendolyn Spivey, an assistant federal public defender, said the court should recognize that typically bus riders are poorer and have less knowledge of their rights.

With little room to move around on a Greyhound bus, the two men caught ferrying drugs say they didn't feel free to get up and leave when police stood over them in the aisle and started asking questions.

Government prosecutors say Christopher Drayton and Clifton Brown were not under arrest and could have either left their seats or ignored the officers' questions.

The Supreme Court said it will decide whether police who want to look for drugs or evidence of other crimes must first inform passengers of their legal rights.

Spivey said if the court is not willing to go that far, it should consider giving discretion to courts to determine if passengers were coerced.

Drayton and Brown won a lower court ruling that the 1999 drug sweep aboard a bus in Tallahassee, Fla., violated their constitutional protection against unreasonable searches.

The Bush administration appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the officers did nothing wrong.

"The officers showed no weapons, spoke politely and quietly with the passengers, and said nothing that might convey the message that cooperation was mandatory," Solicitor General Theodore Olson wrote in court papers.

Three officers boarded the bus, bound for Detroit from Fort Lauderdale. One officer knelt backward in the driver's seat, facing the passengers. The other two worked their way from the back of the bus forward, asking passengers about their travel plans and about their luggage.

An officer introduced himself to Drayton and Brown, and told them he was looking for illegal drugs and weapons. Drayton and Brown agreed to let officers search a bag in the overhead luggage rack, and it yielded no drugs or weapons.

Police then asked to pat down the men's baggy clothing. The men agreed, and officers felt objects on the men's legs that turned out to be packets of cocaine.

Both men were arrested and convicted of drug charges.

"A reasonable passenger could not ignore the `in-your-face' show of authority which officers employed in this case," lawyers for Drayton and Brown wrote.

"The officers chose and exploited a coercive environment in which they knew they were most likely to get the consent they sought."

The Supreme Court previously ruled that police questioning aboard buses is not necessarily more coercive just because a passenger may have little room to move about. That ruling left some aspects of the police-passenger exchange in limbo, including the question of whether officers should always tell passengers that they have the right to refuse to cooperate.

On appeal in this case, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the cocaine should not have been admitted as evidence, because the officers failed to give such a warning or otherwise inform the men of their rights.

The case is United States v. Drayton, 01-631.

On the Net:

11th Circuit Court of Appeals case: http://www.law.emory.edu/11circuit/oct2000/99-13814.man.html

Source: Associated Press
Author: Anne Gearan, Associated Press Writer
Published: Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Copyright: 2002 Associated Press

Related Articles:

Just Say No - Reason Magazine
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11730.shtml

Justices To Address Limits of Bus Searches
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11692.shtml


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Comment #2 posted by p4me on April 16, 2002 at 11:08:15 PT
Paul Peterson
I know on one post I referred to Peter Lewis as Paul Lewis. It is a Peter/Paul syndrome. It looks like Paul Peterson is running for office in Illinois. He sure has a lot of energy and maybe it is hard to get to exactly what he is saying. He composed a piece at his website and does a pretty good job of explaining why Illinois does have medical marijuana and it is very progressive. Open-ended as Paul says: http://ILLINOIS-MMI.org/publications/issue11_2002.html

Richard Cowan was to have started up again at marijuananews.com and the other websites related to his original site. One is the 5 minute commentary like at pot-tv and the other is on media commentary because the best reason for the continuation of prohibition in two words is "bad journalism." He did put up something at MJnews saying there would be a delay. I just wanted to note my disappointment because the best marijuana journalist in two words is "Richard Cowan."

Turmel is really doing some crowing at his yahoo website and is all excited because of his chances of taking over the leadership of the Marijuana Party. He is still saying that marijuana prohibition can end because of court cases coming over the next few days. He says that if the laws don't go down with the current blow he has a secret that will undo the marijuana prohibition in Canada.

VAAI

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Comment #1 posted by p4me on April 16, 2002 at 09:58:02 PT
Arrest everybody
It sounds like the prohibitionist think everyone should be in jail to start with and have to take a drug test to get out. The national debt will grow 1.111 billion today and something has to change or it will be that much a year from today plus about the 50 million in interest on today's increased debt.

The WOD minus T&A is senseless. The present Congress is senseless too for letting this go on. When 4 out of 10 people are for legalizing marijuana and 8 out of 10 are for medical marijuana, don't you think Congress should have a hearing to see what the people want? This Congress wants to stay behind the Stonewall and that is why I am for a complete new Congress and I mean without exception.

I can see a judge talking to George Washington in front of a court today. Well George it looks like you have 7,563,248 ounces of cannabis and you will be in jail a long time. You won't need Mt. Vernon anymore and we appreciate your funding of our fuckedupedness. Say, do you have a good hunting rifle or do I need to sell the ones you have and buy a good one.

Whatever. Don't smoke. VAAI

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