cannabisnews.com: Federal Court Of Appeals Halts Drug Testing Plan 





Federal Court Of Appeals Halts Drug Testing Plan 
Posted by FoM on January 02, 2000 at 07:49:36 PT
NORML's Weekly Update News - Dec. 30th, 1999
Source: NORML
  New Orleans, LA: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this past Tuesday a 1998 federal district judge's ruling that a Louisiana law requiring random drug tests for elected officials was unconstitutional. 
  The Circuit's three-judge panel affirmed U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon's decision that the drug-testing law violates the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search and seizure. The unanimous decision stated, "[W]e are satisfied that the district court committed no reversible error in applying the pertinent law to the virtually uncontested facts."   The law, which would have required 10 percent of state and local officials to be randomly drug tested each year, was passed in 1997 but has never been implemented due to the legal challenge. Under the law, results of the first test would have remained private. If drugs were detected a second test would have been conducted within six months.   In the case of a second positive test for drugs, the results would have been made public. Refusal to submit to a drug test would result in a $10,000 fine and censure.   It is expected that Gov. Mike Foster (R), who initiated the legislation, will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.   William Rittenberg, Esq., a NORML Legal Committee attorney who challenged the law on behalf of a state legislator, said the U.S. Supreme Court already ruled on the issue in 1997, when it overturned a Georgia law requiring political candidates to be drug-tested. "Case law is clear that the act of urination is a private act, and the act of requiring somebody to give a urine sample is a search," Rittenberg said. "Only in exceptional circumstances can you conduct warrantless searches."  For more information, please contact William Rittenberg, Esq., at (504) 524-5555. Related Articles:Appeals Court Strikes Down Drug Testing Law - 12/29/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4129.shtmlCannabis News NORML Articles:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtmlCannabis News Drug Testing Articles:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/drug_testing.shtmlNORML's News Bulletinhttp://www.norml.org/news/index.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by legalizeit on January 02, 2000 at 22:54:20 PT
Why...
...does the Fourth Amendment only apply to bureaucrats??
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