DRUG RAID LAWSUITS COMBINED

Mediation Planned in Student Cases

Two federal lawsuits stemming from November's drug raid at Stratford
High School have been combined into one as attorneys start gathering
evidence to attempt mediation to resolve the cases. Combining the
cases prevents duplication of effort in gathering the same information
for the cases, which were filed in federal court for two separate
groups of 18 and 20 students against the city of Goose Creek, its
police department and Berkeley County School District.

Those students were in the hallway when Goose Creek police came into
the school to conduct a drug search, some officers with guns drawn.
Students were told to lie down on the floor and some were handcuffed.
Police used a drug dog to search book bags. No drugs were found, and
no arrests were made. The raid drew national criticism after a portion
of videotapes of the incident was released to the media.

Nearly 20 attorneys crowded into the Hollings Judicial Center Monday
to talk about where matters stood in the cases. Attorneys for the
students said they had not received the videotapes from the raid.

Duke Highfield, an attorney for Berkeley County schools, said student
privacy laws dictated that the district could not release the
surveillance tapes until all of the students in the hallway had been
identified and contacted about the tapes, not just the plaintiffs.

District Judge P. Michael Duffy said a magistrate could set rules for
providing the tapes to the plaintiffs without threatening student privacy.

"It sounds to me like everybody has the same need -- more
information," Duffy said. "I see no reason an exchange of information
can't take place immediately."

He told both sides that he expected them to share the information they
have with the opposing side, so they can determine what else needs to
be done. He expects that to happen in the next 30 to 45 days.

Attorney Donna Givens, representing the city of Goose Creek and its
police department, called for mediation from a federal magistrate as
the best way to resolve the lawsuits. "We have been willing to mediate
this case from the beginning," she said.

Duffy will turn the case over to a magistrate for the mediation.

"If all that fails, I'll be back with you at a later date," he told
the attorneys.