BEFORE A DRUG RAID, 20-SECOND WAIT IS ADEQUATE, JUSTICES RULE

WASHINGTON - Police officers with a search warrant to look for drugs
usually must give residents the courtesy of knocking on the door to
announce themselves.

But they need not wait long -- and certainly no longer than 20 seconds
- -- before breaking down the door and coming inside, the Supreme Court
unanimously said Tuesday.

"What matters is the opportunity to get rid of cocaine, which a
prudent dealer will keep near a commode or kitchen sink," said Justice
David H. Souter. "And 15 to 20 seconds does not seem an unrealistic
guess about the time someone would need to get in a position to rid
his quarters of cocaine."

The high court's venture into the time it takes to flush drugs down
the toilet was prompted by the case of LaShawn Banks of North Las Vegas,
Nev.

In 1998, heavily armed police and FBI agents went to his apartment to
carry out a search warrant. They knocked on the door and loudly
announced their presence.

They waited 15 or 20 seconds and, hearing no response, used a
battering ram to break down the door.

A surprised Banks emerged from the shower. Officers found crack
cocaine, $6,000 in cash and several weapons.

Banks pleaded guilty to drug crimes and was sentenced to 11 years in
prison.

Last year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the evidence
against him should have been thrown out because officers' sudden burst
into his apartment violated the 4th Amendment's guarantee against
unreasonable searches and seizures.

In a brief opinion in U.S. vs. Banks, the Supreme Court unanimously
reversed that ruling and said the officers' conduct was reasonable
considering the circumstances.

The court's opinion did not set a rule for all such cases. Had police
been searching for a stolen piano, rather than drugs, Souter said,
officers should have waited longer.