JUDGE'S RULING PUTS KC DRUG-SEARCH PROCEDURES IN DOUBT

A federal judge has found that Kansas City police illegally searched a
man's home for drugs in a case that defense lawyers say raises questions
about hundreds of other Jackson County searches.

The late December ruling by Magistrate Judge Sarah Hays recommends that
U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner suppress evidence gathered in the May 28,
2002, search.

The ruling in the case of Montonio Workcuff concerned a no-knock search
warrant that allows officers to break into a home. Hays ruled that police
had no evidence to obtain a no-knock search warrant. In court, officers
testified that such warrants are routine in Jackson County.

Normally, police are required to announce themselves, knock on the door and
wait a reasonable time for an answer. Police testified in the Workcuff case
that they routinely avoid that requirement by getting no-knock search
warrants. Such warrants protect officers and don't give drug dealers time
to destroy drugs, police said.

"However," Hays wrote, "there is no blanket exception to the knock and
announce requirement in a drug investigation." She cited past federal court
rulings that require police to give specific reasons to justify no-knock
searches, such as a suspect's violent past.

That was not done in the Workcuff case, she ruled, and the no-knock search
was improper. That means any evidence seized in the search cannot be used
against Workcuff.

In the search, police seized more than $100,000 in cash, a handgun, scales
and about 1/8 ounce of marijuana. Workcuff is charged in federal court with
conspiring to distribute cocaine and has pleaded not guilty.

His attorney, Patrick Peters, has said that any ruling in the case could
affect hundreds of similar cases. He was out of the country Thursday and
could not be reached for comment.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Kansas City said federal prosecutors
were reviewing the ruling and would decide soon whether to oppose it.
Meanwhile, he said, the prosecution will seek a delay in Workcuff's Jan. 13
trial.

In an unrelated search warrant case, lawyer David Smith recently won a $2
million jury verdict for a client in a case that involved a Kansas City
police search for drugs. Smith said the Hays ruling could affect many other
criminal cases and result in a wave of civil lawsuits against police.

"The Kansas City Police Department can't circumvent the Constitution," he said.

Kansas City Police Department attorneys were reviewing the ruling and
declined to comment.

Although Hays' ruling did not directly apply to other cases, Presiding
Jackson County Circuit Judge Jay Daugherty said county judges would review
the ruling to determine whether to change search warrant procedures.

In the Workcuff case, the defense and prosecution argued about the limits
of the Fourth Amendment, which protects "the right of the people to be
secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures...."

Workcuff's case stands out from others. Most such evidence-suppression
hearings end in a day or less. Hays heard evidence and testimony over five
days, and her ruling was 33 pages long.

Though Peters raised numerous issues about the search, Hays ruled that the
improper no-knock search was the only reason to suppress the Workcuff evidence.

She would not make broad conclusions about all Jackson County search
warrants and state law, she wrote. "This court will only rule on issues as
they relate to defendant Workcuff's case," she wrote.

In Kansas City and around the country, courts have broadened police search
powers as part of the war on drugs. The Workcuff case demonstrates the
extent of some of those searches. Though the defense challenged the extent
of the search, Hays found that it was justified by previous court rulings.

Police got a search warrant from a Jackson County judge based on an accused
drug dealer's allegations as part of a plea deal. The drug suspect said he
bought marijuana and cocaine from Workcuff in the summer of 2001 and still
owed him money in April 2002, according to court records.

On May 28, when Workcuff and his two young children were gone, Kansas City
police searched Workcuff's three-story house at 3304 Garfield Ave.

According to court records:

Police broke in the door, ripped a burglar alarm out of the wall and cut up
furniture and children's dolls. They also ripped apart the furnace, its
flue and the outside air conditioners.

Officers reported finding scales, a gun, bullets, a bulletproof vest, about
1/8 ounce of loose marijuana and $103,661 in cash. Workcuff claims he had
more than $109,000.

Jackson County prosecutors did not file charges, but the U.S. attorney's
office in Kansas City took the case.

The suspected drug dealer who implicated Workcuff by then had pleaded
guilty. He told police he had bought up to 4 kilos of cocaine a week from
Workcuff from May 2001 to April 2002.

In July, a federal grand jury indicted Workcuff. As part of the case,
federal prosecutors are also seeking $504,000 in forfeiture money,
including the money found at the house.

In an interview last month, Peters gave his client's defense:

Workcuff, 28, worked for many years in fast-food restaurants, lived
frugally and saved the cash. He kept it at home because he was afraid a
family member would get access to it in a bank.

Workcuff's accountant and business records taken by police can prove the
money is legitimate, Peters said. Peters said the scales, marijuana and
bulletproof vest had been left in the house and did not belong to Workcuff.