JUDGE - DRUG TEST VIOLATED COUNCILMAN'S RIGHTS

A federal judge ruled Friday that the city of Forsyth may have erred
in administering a random drug test but can proceed with its plans to
hold a disciplinary hearing for a councilman who tested positive for
cocaine.

But the judge restricted what action the city can take against Melvin
Lawrence.

"Plaintiff will not lose the right to represent his constituents, the
ability to carry out his duties and responsibilities as an alderman,
or the right to hold the office to which he was duly elected,"
according to the order, signed by U.S. District Judge Duross
Fitzpatrick.

The judge's order states that the city likely acted without authority
and violated Councilman Melvin Lawrence's Fourth Amendment rights when
it forced him to take the "suspicionless" test.

Lawrence, 53, filed suit against the city April 26 disputing the
results of the test and claiming the city had neither the right to
test him nor the power to investigate the test results.

The federal lawsuit was filed the same day Lawrence's attorney
withdrew a similar suit in Superior Court.

Along with the lawsuit, Lawrence's attorney filed a request to block a
special meeting where the City Council planned to discuss the positive
test results.

Lawrence was notified March 28 that his urine tested positive for
cocaine metabolites. He has denied ever using cocaine and, according
to court records, refused an offer under which the city would keep the
results secret if he resigned.

The city's position is that it has the right to take action against
Lawrence, including exonerating him, fining him, requiring him to
participate in drug treatment or counseling and disqualifying him from
office.

A date has not yet been set for the hearing.

"Obviously we're pleased that the court denied the injunction that
will allow the city to go forward with the disciplinary hearing," said
Frank Butler, an attorney assisting the city. "... Mr. Lawrence will
have the opportunity to have that decision reviewed if he's not satisfied."

The judge's order describes the city's authority to discipline
Lawrence as "questionable." It notes that the outcome of the city's
proposed hearing is unclear.

"Although Defendants might declare Plaintiff's disqualification from
office, Defendants might take no action at all," the order states.

Fitzpatrick's ruling permits the city to hold a disciplinary hearing
because the hearing does not threaten Lawrence with "irreparable injury."

An injury - the unreasonable search prohibited by the Fourth Amendment
- - has already occurred, according to the order.

The order cites a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which originated
in Georgia and found that requiring candidates to take drug tests
amounts to unconstitutional search unless a "special need" can be
demonstrated. In that case, Walker L. Chandler, a Libertarian
candidate for lieutenant governor, sued then-Gov. Zell Miller over
requiring candidates to submit to drug screens.

The city of Forsyth had argued there are special needs in Lawrence's
case. Unlike the state, the city can be sued for the actions of its
employees and public officials, according to the city attorney.

The city's random drug testing policy was amended in 1996 to add
elected officials to the pool of people eligible for random screens.
Lawrence was chosen for the test and submitted to a March 21 urinalysis.

In his ruling, the judge wrote that random drug tests, while
appropriate for those who regularly operate city vehicles and carry
firearms, are unnecessary for members of the City Council.

"In this case ... the City of Forsyth fails to show that the policy of
random drug testing for elected officials is warranted by a special
need," the order states.