LAW ON DRIVING UNDER INFLUENCE OF DRUGS TESTED

A judge in Reno is expected to rule next week on whether police illegally
obtained evidence showing a man had marijuana in his system before a July
car crash that killed a 17-year-old mother and her infant.

The ruling could force prosecutors to dismiss charges against Robert
McKellips, 20. It also could test the constitutionality of a 1999 law
allowing motorists who use drugs and are involved in fatal crashes to be
charged with a felony.

McKellips was charged with driving under the influence of drugs causing
death. The validity of the law, which brought a conviction in a Las Vegas
case, is under review in the state Supreme Court.

Lawyers say a person cannot know whether he is violating the law because
trace amounts of drugs can stay in the body for weeks.