cannabisnews.com: Justices Rule Drug-Eviction Law Is Fair Justices Rule Drug-Eviction Law Is Fair Posted by FoM on March 26, 2002 at 22:55:16 PT By Linda Greenhouse Source: New York Times The Supreme Court today interpreted a federal drug law to permit the eviction of public housing tenants for drug use by any household member or guest, even drug use that takes place outside the apartment without the tenant's knowledge.The 8-to-0 decision overturned a ruling by the federal appeals court in San Francisco, which had interpreted the provision of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to bar the eviction of "innocent" tenants who had neither knowledge of nor control over their family members' drug use. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said its interpretation was necessary to avoid the serious constitutional question that would be raised by depriving tenants of their property without proof of individual wrongdoing.But the law raised no constitutional issue and its terms were clear, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said for the court today in a 10-page opinion. Justice Stephen G. Breyer did not take part in the case because his brother, Judge Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court in San Francisco, was the judge who granted an injunction in 1998 to stop the Oakland Housing Authority from evicting four tenants who challenged the provision the authority had included in their leases to comply with the federal law.There was nothing unusual, let alone unconstitutional, about "no-fault evictions" of tenants who failed to meet a condition of their lease, Chief Justice Rehnquist said. In signing the leases, the tenants agreed to make sure that no "drug-related criminal activity" would take place "on or near the premises" and agreed that they faced eviction if the lease was violated.Civil rights organizations had filed briefs in the case, Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker, No. 00-1770, to argue that the policy was unfair and would lead to increased homelessness. That no member of the court either agreed with or felt moved to acknowledge these arguments was a measure of the current court's relative conservatism.A brief filed by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, on behalf of a coalition of civil rights and tenants' rights groups, described evictions undertaken by housing authorities around the country that it characterized as "horror stories" of "draconian enforcement." The brief said "a tenant who has a fleeting connection to the alleged perpetrator of a crime is put at risk because of conduct that only the most paranoid or clairvoyant tenant could possibly have foreseen."The four plaintiffs who challenged the evictions in Oakland included two whose grandchildren, who lived with them, were caught smoking marijuana in a housing project parking lot; one whose daughter was found with cocaine three blocks from the apartment; and a disabled 75-year-old man whose caretaker was found with cocaine in his apartment.Chief Justice Rehnquist said that Congress's intention to give public housing authorities the right to evict "innocent owners" like these was unambiguous, as shown by the statute's reference to "any drug-related criminal activity." He said, "This any drug-related activity engaged in by the specified persons is grounds for termination, not just drug-related activity that the tenant knew, or should have known, about." The chief justice said the policy was a reasonable one, given that drug use presented a threat to other residents of a public housing project, regardless of whether the responsible tenant knew about it.The New York City Housing Authority, the country's biggest local housing agency, said today that the court's decision would strengthen its policy, which it described as "zero tolerance for drugs and violent criminal activity."Gerri Lamb, a tenant leader who heads the New York City Housing Authority Council of Residents Presidents, said that in practice, the authority often allowed a family to remain if the offending relative was excluded from the residence.But Corinne Carey, a New York lawyer who represents families fighting drug evictions from public housing, said the authority's approach resulted in breaking up families and undermining an addicted family member's chances for recovery."Stable housing is the key component for anyone struggling with addiction," Ms. Carey said.Dan Abrahamson, director of legal affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, which filed a brief in the case, said that the policy and the court's interpretation of it reflected "the criminal justice approach to drugs that has failed us for 20 years."Linda Greenhouse, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting, answers readers' questions on Supreme Court rules and procedure in this column, available exclusively on NYTimes.com. Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Linda GreenhousePublished: March 27, 2002Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/ Related Articles:Supreme Court Backs Public Housing Drug Ban http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12368.shtmlSupreme Court Approves Public Housing Drug Banhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12362.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by observer on March 29, 2002 at 09:25:43 PT ''Justice'' Rehnquist: Hypocrite Pill-Head There was nothing unusual, let alone unconstitutional, about "no-fault evictions" of tenants who failed to meet a condition of their lease, Chief Justice Rehnquist said. In signing the leases, the tenants agreed to make sure that no "drug-related criminal activity" would take place "on or near the premises" and agreed that they faced eviction if the lease was violated.Lest we let Big Brother make this fact slide down the memory-hole, also ... 1981 -- Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist -- who has, for several months, been taking substantial doses of Placidyl to relieve intense back pain -- checks into George Washington Hospital for teatment of side effects, including speech so severly slurred that he was frequently incoherent in court & according to a hospital spokesman, he is "hearing things & seeing things that other people did not hear & see." http://www.eskimo.com/~recall/bleed/1227.htm"... Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Rehnquist has admitted that he was "addicted" to the sleeping pill Placidyl for nine years." http://www.princeton.edu/~progrev/99-00/n3_jw.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Robbie on March 27, 2002 at 16:08:06 PT Wonder who was in charge of congress in 88? I'm not sure, but I believe it was a Democratically held Congress. And Bill Clinton liked the idea.from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/states/docs/sou96.htmAnd I challenge local housing authorities and tenant associations: Criminal gang members and drug dealers are destroying the lives of decent tenants. From now on, the rule for residents who commit crime and peddle drugs should be one strike and you're out.Bill Clinton: 1996 State of the Union address. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by DdC on March 27, 2002 at 13:24:47 PT It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fascist! Everywhere I go... Clarence the Liar doesn't seem to care if he Lies and Ommits evidence, who's gonna stop him, the Democrats? ¶8) http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36678.gifYes it's beginning to look a lot like Fascist, all around the town. Send mmj to 7 remaining patients and then simply say you Can't Find It and then shrug it all off as the previous justifying means to obtain the end they want... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36609.gifKangeroo Kourts selecting Bush, taking foodstamps and housing from the poor, while escalating $billions for war machines, profiting on incarcerating the 2 million slave workers in prison, while their houses get sold in forfeiture courts and kids taken for advocating, along with the car and furnature, yes it's definately looking a lot like Fascist, everywhere I go... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36547.gifBad Rulings coming down from both sides of the aisle, posturig for new positions in the Skull&Bones, at the expense of the citizens...Yup its damn sure smelling a lot like Fascism is working... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36627.gifEvil Lurking, around every corner, in the name of god, judging and killing innocents, if they choose something different, its sure as hell looking like Fascist... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36620.gif The Anti-Pat Robertson/Christian Coalition Site http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/7027/patrobertson.htmlSpreading Moldy Propaganda designed to cause shame and fear, in the name of saving kids, ending with D.E.A.th and Injury, all for the love of Greed, any time of year... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/35/35025.gifPat&Jer's Brand New Testament, Bushit has his own Chapter in it! And the lord says just say no to drugs daddy doesn't sell.... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/34/34819.gifYes its way past looking like Fascist. Starving Babies & Illegal Food, saving the meat industry and the chemical grain used for feed, while the farmworkers are maimed from radiated pesticide in the fields, those losing foodstamps can take their place say the Fascist, in the great WASP race to Incarcerate the planet. Poisoning South American peasants or midwestern ditchweed to raise statistics it all reaks of Fascism.. http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36712.gifBut then I had the Strangest Dream, although it did seem real, a bunch of people gathered round and started to question these clowns, and its beginning to look like we're standing up too Fascist, everywhere I go... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36617.gifRebels coming out of their homes, to speak out against the obediant drones and their hideous rulings, and ego mad power grabs, while Korpses G-8 see larger protest every season and Fascist like Enron, falling daily as the Towers of Babylon, this product sold as WoD, will also end... http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/35/35028.gifAnslinger-Bush-Hearst-Nixon-Hitler-Nalepka Jüs Déjå vü!!! http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionprohibitionistwodjunkies.showMessage?topicID=55.topicAmerika, Amerika by Claire Wolfe http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionantiwodwarriors.showMessage?topicID=40.topic AsacondA [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by dddd on March 27, 2002 at 08:17:16 PT Killer Goodies Jose ..Thank you......dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on March 27, 2002 at 07:41:21 PT: Drug use legal for the gainfully employed From:http://www.theonion.com/onion3811/drugs_now_legal.html WASHINGTON, DC—Seeking to "narrow the focus of the drug war to the true enemy," Congress passed a bill legalizing drug use for the gainfully employed Monday.See:http://graphics.theonion.com/pics_3811/drugs_now_legal.jpgAbove link: A Portland, OR, marketing executive enjoys some newly legal cocaine. "Stockbrokers, lawyers, English professors... you're not the problem here," said DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson at a White House press conference. "If you are paying taxes and keeping your yard tidy, we're not going to hassle you if you come home from a hard day of work and want to enjoy a little pot or blow. But if, on the other hand, you're one of these lazy, shiftless types hanging out on the street all day looking for your next high, we're coming after you." The new law, which goes into effect May 1, will enable police departments and courts to focus on what Hutchinson called "the real drug offenders."See:http://graphics.theonion.com/pics_3811/drug_war_icon.jpg "There's no point going after some cardiac surgeon who needs some speed to keep him sharp," Hutchinson said. "That's not what the law was intended to prevent. But the more destructive drug users—the addict who spends his welfare money on crack, the guy in Harlem who smokes marijuana—that is something that we as a society must not tolerate." According to Drug Czar John P. Walters, the legislation should have a beneficial effect on the health of the American people. "As a result of this new law, we expect use of addictive, harmful drugs like heroin and crack—those statistically more likely to be linked to unemployment—to drop," Walters said. "Meanwhile, decent people with good jobs can continue their responsible use of milder drugs like E and cocaine in peace." Walters said the new legislation will make it significantly easier to fight the drug war. The nation's courts will not be clogged with cases involving club kids caught with "Vitamin K" or doctors prescribing Vicodin to rich housewives. More money can be freed up to build prisons to keep chronically unemployed addicts in jail and off the streets—the only statistically proven method of improving an addict's chance of recovery. "Clearly, a lot of people doing drugs simply cannot handle them," Walters said. "We've got to get the drugs out of the hands of these people, and give them back to the weekend user." The law, Hutchinson noted, will also help protect the nation's poor and unemployed, who are not as equipped to handle the effects of drug addiction as their more affluent counterparts. "Drugs are addictive, and that's true whether you're a ghetto gang member or a Harvard-educated entertainment lawyer," Hutchinson said. "But the cold, hard truth is, if the ghetto kid gets hooked, he isn't going to clean up in a rehab clinic in Palm Springs and maybe even become president, now, is he? That's why we need to protect the less fortunate among us with the threat of arrest and incarceration." The U.S. economy also stands to benefit. Initial surveys indicate that the threat of jail will motivate recreational drug users to seek employment, reducing the nation's welfare rolls. "Legal weed versus jail?" asked Cory Everly, 23, an unemployed Austin, TX, singer-songwriter. "I'm am so totally going down to the sub shop today to ask Rudy for my job back." Added Everly: "Rudy's my boss... at the sub shop." "The new American motto is 'Work Hard, Play Hard,'" Hutchinson said. "Do a few bumps of coke at your gay friend's party. Go to your be-in or your Lollapalooza rave or whatever it's called this year. But you'd better make it in to work on Monday, buddy, or you're going to jail." "Sorry if some of my comments have been a bit rambling and unfocused," Hutchinson added. "I'm a little high right now." (grin) what if YOUR drugs were illegal? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment