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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Carragher who wrote (130827)	8/9/2005 8:07:16 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793755

Here is the original story. These cops become a law unto themselves when they show up at your door. Make threats to haul you down to the station if you don't cooperate. People would rather go along than get hassled. ACLU sues over law on alcohol tests of pedestrians Breathalyzers can be required from minors without a warrant Friday, August 5, 2005BY DAVID EGGERT The Associated Press Saginaw Valley State University honors student Katie Platte was 19 last year when Thomas Township Police in Saginaw County asked her and some friends to take the test, which gives an indication of a person's blood-alcohol level. She faced a $100 fine if she refused. "I don't think it's fair for young people to have to choose between a $100 fine and an invasion of privacy,'' said Platte, who wasn't drinking. "With this, you're guilty until proven innocent.'' Another plaintiff in the suit, Ashley Berden, was forced to take a Breathalyzer when Thomas Township Police showed up at her family's home at 4 a.m. because she had left her purse at a high school graduation party that was later busted by police, the ACLU said. The test showed the 18-year-old hadn't been drinking. The ACLU says Michigan is the only state in the country where pedestrians under age 21 can't refuse an alcohol test if police don't have a search warrant. "It's a bodily search. It's an invasive search,'' said Michael Steinberg, legal director of the ACLU's Michigan branch. "In the United States of America, the government can't search a person's body without the permission of the court.'' Platte, Berden and two other plaintiffs - both from Isabella County - figure to have success in court. The case will be heard by U.S. District Judge David Lawson of Bay City, who in 2003 struck down as unconstitutional a Bay City ordinance that was nearly identical to the state law. Ann Arbor Deputy Police Chief Gregory O'Dell said police aggressively enforce laws against underage drinking. But he said that since the Bay City ruling, his officers no longer enforce the portion of the drinking law that requires minors to submit to a Breathalyzer test, although police still ask for consent in some cases. In others, they may obtain search warrants to draw blood if circumstances merit it. "Every fall, we issue thousands of citations,'' he said of officers patrolling University of Michigan campus area streets. "Our party patrol is very active.'' Students who are ticketed face a misdemeanor criminal charge, which can be erased from their record on first offense if they successfully complete probation. Diane Brown, spokeswoman for facilities and operations at U-M, said that students would be cited by U-M campus police if they refused to take a Breathalyzer test. But she added that such a test would only be requested if there was probable cause to show drinking, such as the minor holding an alcoholic drink, passing out or appearing to be intoxicated or causing public damage. "We would always need probable cause to do a PBT (portable Breathalyzer test),'' Brown said. Cindy Hall, director of public safety at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, said that in her experience students almost always comply with requests to take a Breathalyzer test, but that officers would enforce the law if circumstances dictate. "It doesn't come up as an issue,'' she said. "Normally, there is a request and there is compliance.'' The lawsuit names the Mount Pleasant Police Department, the Michigan State Police, Central Michigan University Police Department, Isabella County Sheriff's Department and Gov. Jennifer Granholm as defendants. Platte said the Thomas Township Police are known to frequently break up parties and force everybody under 21 to take a Breathalyzer test. A message seeking comment was left Thursday with Thomas Township Police Chief Steven Kocsis. After Lawson's ruling, the ACLU sent letters or e-mails to 425 municipal and university attorneys advising them to stop the alcohol tests. "We hoped the prior case would take care of the problem, but the state police continued to enforce the state law,'' Steinberg said. "The purpose of this case is to solve the problem across the state.'' A state police spokeswoman said the department had not yet received the complaint and could not comment further. The ACLU is not challenging the ability of law enforcement to give alcohol tests to suspected drunken drivers.