Pubdate: Tue, 30 Mar 2004
Source: Clarion-Ledger, The (MS)
Copyright: 2004 The Clarion-Ledger
Contact: http://www.clarionledger.com/about/letters.html
Website: http://www.clarionledger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/805

COURT RULING ATTACKS BASIC LIBERTIES

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has come up with a real bone-headed 
ruling in allowing police to search suspects' homes without either a search 
or arrest warrant.

The warrantless search, which expands a 1994 standard to allow law 
enforcement to make a so-called protective sweep for their own safety, goes 
too far in allowing the state to infringe on private property and citizens' 
privacy rights.

In this case, police were allowed into the home of a suspect by someone 
other than the suspect and they proceeded to look in closets and under beds 
under the guise of protecting themselves. From what? Someone who is not 
there? With no ability to use any weapon they might find?

This ruling could harm law enforcement. With such fuzzy guidelines beyond 
the "plain view" standard, virtually any search will be vulnerable to be 
negated in a court of law, making officers worse off, and real criminals 
may go free.

If not, then virtually any citizen could be subject to such "cursory" 
searches, without any probable cause that a crime occurred or that a person 
was considered dangerous.

In the 11-4 ruling, the court said four other appeals courts have adopted 
such rulings. That is even more disturbing.

The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn this attack on the 4th Amendment.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom