Court Gives Police Victory in Waiting Time

[shawn703]

WASHINGTON - In a victory for law officers, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that it was constitutional for police to wait 20 seconds before knocking down the door of a drug suspect.

LaShawn Banks was taking a shower when masked and heavily armed officers broke into his Las Vegas apartment in 1998 looking for drugs.

His case gave the court the opportunity to clarify how long police must wait before breaking into a home to serve a warrant. The court ruled 9-0 that a 20 second delay was ample, because any longer would give drug suspects time to flush evidence down the toilet.




more...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=558&ncid=703&e=10&u=/ap/20031202/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_police_searches

[CaptainClark23]

1. No more lo-flo toilets

For you neighborhood dealers...the smart dealers only use high quality fast-flushers...

this isn't gonna really nail anyone who wasn't getting nailed before, because if law enforcement really thinks they are going to be nabbing any sizable quantity of drugs on premises, its common for them to install a trap on the outgoing sewer line.

as if flushing were some novel concept...sheesh....

[madddog]

2. a 20 second delay is nice...

but I'd rather they be required to get the right HOUSE lol. There seem to be a lot of "oops, so sorry, wrong address" kinda things happening these days.

[bluestateguy]

3. Idiocy

I can understand if police had reason to believe a rape or murder was going on in the house, but possession of drugs? Get a life. The real issue here is a facist war on drugs that wastes money, drains police resources, ruins families, overcrowds prisions and is used as a smokescreen for government to enhance police powers.

[Rex]

4. 20 seconds...bout how long it takes for me to get off my lazy ass

and make it to the door to open it. I can just see me getting steam-rolled (by my own door) as I reach to turn the knob. :(