Pubdate: Sat, 05 Jan 2002
Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Copyright: 2002 Associated Press
Author: Gina Holland

HIGH COURT TO HEAR BUS SEARCH CASE

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is accepting the Bush 
administration's request that it decide whether to bolster the power 
of police to search passengers on public transportation.

Officers routinely check buses and trains for drug couriers and since 
the Sept. 11 attacks have focused efforts on terrorists who could be 
using public transportation.

The high court said Friday it will decide whether police who want to 
look for drugs or evidence of other crimes must first must inform 
passengers of their legal rights. The ruling could clarify what 
police may and may not do as they approach and search a passenger.

Without mentioning the airliner hijackings specifically, 
administration officials invoked the war on terrorism and the concern 
over aviation security in asking the justices to take the case.

"Programs that rely on consensual interactions between police 
officers and citizens on means of public transportation are an 
important part of the national effort to combat the flow of illegal 
narcotics and weapons," Solicitor General Theodore Olson wrote.

"In the current environment, they may also become an important part 
of preventing other forms of criminal activity that involve travel on 
the nation's system of public transportation," he added.

In another case, the Supreme Court said it will decide whether former 
Alabama inmate Larry Hope may sue his guards for shackling him to a 
metal pole known as the "hitching post."

Hope claims the hitching post is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual 
punishment. Lower federal courts agreed but ruled that the officers 
were protected from his lawsuit.

Hope told the court that he and hundreds of other prisoners were 
shackled to the outdoor pole for extended periods without food, water 
or bathroom breaks and were taunted by guards.

"Certainly this is a case in which the rights violated are so basic 
and obvious that the petitioner should be entitled to ask a jury for 
compensation," Hope wrote.

Hitching posts were used periodically in Alabama prisons for years, 
but came into widespread use in 1995 as part of a get-tough approach 
to criminals championed by then-Gov. Fob James. They are not used now.

In the public transportation case, it is not clear whether the 
Supreme Court's ruling would apply to airplane passengers.

Stanford University law professor George Fisher said the ruling will 
give officers guidance for handling any type of passenger search, but 
"this case will end up being much more about drugs than about bombs."

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the federal government's argument 
that police officers in Tallahassee, Fla., were within their rights 
when they questioned and searched two men aboard a Greyhound bus in 
1999.

Police asked to pat down the baggy clothing of Christopher Drayton 
and Clifton Brown. The men agreed, and officers felt hard objects on 
the men's legs that turned out to be packets of cocaine. Both men 
were convicted of drug charges.

On appeal, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the cocaine 
should not have been admitted as evidence, because the officers 
failed to tell the men they were not required to cooperate, or 
otherwise inform them of their rights.

The encounter violated the Constitution's ban on unreasonable 
searches and seizures, in part because the men did not feel free to 
leave, the court said.

The cases are United States v. Drayton, 01-631, and Hope v. Pelzer, 01-309.

In other actions Friday, the high court:

- -Agreed to decide whether, before pleading guilty, those charged with 
federal crimes have a constitutional right to see any information 
collected by prosecutors that could help them fight the charges. 
United States v. Ruiz, 01-595

- -Said it would mediate a dispute between the tow-truck industry and 
cities that restrict towing charges and practices. The case could 
have implications for motorists nationwide, and a far-reaching ruling 
could restrict many other kinds of local regulations. City of 
Columbus v. Ours Garage and Wrecker Service, 01-419.

- -Agreed to consider when companies can be forced to pay the winning 
side's attorneys fees in labor lawsuits. An appeals court said BE&K 
Construction Co. had to pay the bills of unions that the company had 
sued. BE&K Construction v. National Labor Relations Board, 01-518.
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