STATE SUPREME COURT REVERSES DRUG CONVICTION AGAIN

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A drug conviction that reached the U.S. Supreme
Court has been reversed by the Wyoming Supreme Court for a second time.

The court has ordered a new trial for Sandra Houghton, who was
convicted of methamphetamine possession and sentenced to two to three
years in prison following her 1995 arrest.

Jurors should have been told to consider a lesser offense for Houghton
because she contended she did not know anything about a bag of liquid
methamphetamine found in her purse by an officer, according to the May
18 opinion written by Chief Justice Larry Lehman.

Houghton was convicted of a felony but could have been convicted of a
misdemeanor if jurors believed her argument, the opinion said.
Authorities had seized a syringe and vial containing nearly
eight-tenths of a gram of liquid methamphetamine in a brown bag, and a
second syringe containing a tenth of a gram in a black bag.

Houghton had confessed to owning the black bag with the smaller amount
of methamphetamine. Any amount of the drug in excess of three-tenths
of a gram is considered a felony.

The court initially reversed the conviction on grounds that a highway
patrol officer who stopped the car she was riding in conducted an
illegal search by going through her purse.

The driver, David Young, had been stopped on Interstate 25 near Casper
for traffic violations. The officer searched the car after spotting a
syringe in the Young's pocket.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling, saying passengers'
personal belongings are fair game when police officers search a car
for criminal evidence against the driver.

At the time of its first ruling, the state court had not considered
the additional issues raised by Houghton on her appeal, including the
lesser offense option.

But in its second ruling, the court also said Houghton waived her
rights when she talked to an investigator who claimed she said all the
drugs in her purse belonged to her.