The sheriff of Richland County, S.C., made a big splash a week ago when a squad of deputies raided the houses of people suspected of having information about a party at which Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps allegedly smoked marijuana.

But some people in the metropolitan county of 350,000 in central South Carolina are wondering why the sheriff is making such a big deal about the situation. "This case is just ridiculous," said Todd Rutherford, a South Carolina state legislator and criminal-defense lawyer who isn't involved in the investigation.

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