NCJ Number
115466
Journal
ABA (American Bar Association) Journal Dated: (February 1989) Pages: 96
Date Published
1989
Length
1 page
Annotation
Two 'liberal' State courts have recently upheld the use of drug and AIDS testing against civil liberties claims.
Abstract
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that random drug testing of an elite police unit does not unreasonably invade the officers' privacy interests. The majority concluded that the officers' privacy claims were not protected by the rationale of Patchogue-Medford Congress of Teachers v. Board of Education, in which the court held that reasonable suspicion was required before school teachers could be tested for drug use. The cases are distinguished because 'the school district's asserted interest in a drug-free teaching staff was limited to ensuring that its teachers are fit and that drug abuse does not impair their ability to deal with the students.' Whereas, the officers are effectively on duty 24 hours a day, and the department has a 'justifiable interest' in keeping its 'main line offense and defense in the war against drug trafficking' free of drug use. In another case, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has held that the State insurance commissioner exceeded his authority when he prohibited health insurers from testing insurance applicants for infection with the virus thought to cause AIDS. The court held that 'insurers have the right to classify risks and to elect not to insure risks if the discrimination is fair.'