Pubdate: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 Source: Journal Gazette (IN) Copyright: 2000 Journal Gazette Contact: 600 W. Main Street, Ft. Wayne, IN. 46802 Fax: (219) 461-8648 Feedback: http://www.jg.net/jg/emailform2.htm Website: http://www.jg.net/jg/ Author: Sylvia A. Smith, Washington editor JUSTICES HALT DRUG DRAGNETS WASHINGTON - Indianapolis police were out of bounds when they used drug-sniffing dogs and traffic roadblocks to randomly check motorists for illegal drugs, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, ending a practice embraced by some police agencies but shunned by others, including in Fort Wayne and Allen County. "What this does is reaffirm what the founders said in regard to searches and seizures, and that is that you gotta have some cause for doing it. And the cause can't simply be that you happen to live in or be driving through the wrong neighborhood," said John Krull, executive director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. Writing for the six-member majority, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said the checkpoints amounted to an illegal search and seizure, which is a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or thing to be seized." Two Hoosiers went to court after they were stopped by a dragnet in 1998 while dogs roamed outside their cars, sniffing for cocaine, heroin and other illegal drugs. Drugs were not found in either driver's car. The practice was initially ruled legal by a state court, but when a federal appeals court said the Indianapolis program was "a pretext for a dragnet search for criminals" and is unconstitutional, Indianapolis took the case to the Supreme Court. Attorneys for Indianapolis argued that there's not much difference between drunken-driving roadblocks and drug roadblocks, and that the minor inconvenience they cause drivers is worth it if drug dealers are snagged. They argued that because drug dealers usually distribute their goods by car, it should be legal to stop cars randomly near areas that are known to be the locations for drug deals. However, several justices asked the Indianapolis attorneys whether that logic could quickly justify stopping pedestrians just because they happen to be in a high-crime area. "People sometimes rob banks on foot," said one justice. "Bank robbers perhaps are poor; they can't afford cars. They walk around. ... So do we stop all the pedestrians?" Three justices said the checkpoints were legal. "Efforts to enforce the law on public highways used by millions of motorists are obviously necessary to our society," Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote. "The court's opinion today casts a shadow over what has been assumed ... to be a perfectly lawful activity." In the opinion, O'Connor said other police roadblocks - for illegal immigrants or drunken driving, for instance - are legal. However, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that sobriety checkpoints violate the state's constitution. Indianapolis conducted six roadblocks in 1998 before suspending them until the lawsuits were resolved. At the same time, Fort Wayne and Allen County police teamed up to operate a random drug roadblock once. But then-Mayor Paul Helmke stopped it when he learned of it. "In our zeal to fight crime and drugs, we have to remember there's a Bill of Rights," Helmke said Tuesday. "We could send the police door to door and find drug dealers, but that's not the way to go about that. That's where the Constitution comes in. You have a right to privacy." The current police leadership - Allen County Sheriff Jim Herman and Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York - disapprove of the roadblocks. "I'm pleased to know that the higher courts came to that opinion," the Rev. Michael Latham, president of Fort Wayne's NAACP chapter, said of the court's decision. Karen Balsley of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck