USE OF DOGS RAISES QUESTIONS

MONROVIA -- It seemed like the perfect solution to the ongoing problem of
high school student drug use: Bring on the dogs.

With 28 drug-related offenses during the 1998-99 school year and 33 the
year before, Monrovia High School Principal Albert Clegg and other district
leaders said they had to do something.

So they did.

The district has hired San Marino-based Iterquest Detection Canines to
supply drug-sniffing dogs to Monrovia High School.

"Just like any other school, we've had our share of drug problems," Clegg
said. "We brought in Interquest because we wanted to take a proactive
approach for contraband."

While district officials move forward with their plan and insist
drug-sniffing dogs are appropriate for a high school campus, a leading
constitutional scholar is questioning the legality of the action.

Erwin Chemerinsky, a USC law professor and an expert in constitutional law
said random dog checks of students' bags just because they are there could
violate a person's right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment. "I think
dog sniffing without any suspicion violates the Fourth Amendment," he said.

Chemerinsky cited a 9th District U.S. Court of Appeals ruling from 1999
that declared dog sniffing of an individual a search. Further, the ruling
declared that if such searches were conducted without reasonable suspicion,
they would violate the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees protection
against unreasonable search and seizure.

Although the court didn't address the issue of a dog sniffing a student's
property, the 1999 ruling is strong enough to call into question the
legality of the practice, Chemerinsky said. "The Ninth Circuit says dog
sniffs are a search, the Supreme Court says searches of purses and book
bags require reasonable suspicion, and so unless there is reasonable
suspicion, it (dog sniffing) is impermissible."

Officials in the Monrovia School District remained convinced dogs on campus
are not illegal.

"You cannot poll a number of lawyers in L.A. County and get their opinion,"
said Supt. Louise Taylor. "If an official source who deals directly with
the school districts has definitive information about a court ruling or
law, of course we're going to deal with this."

Interquest held a demonstration for Monrovia students and faculty last week
and plans similar demonstrations for the PTA and the Monrovia School Board.
The board is expected to vote next month on contracting with Interquest.
Alhambra, Temple City, Hacienda-La Puente and Pasadena school districts all
employ Interquest.

The cost of the searches would be covered with state "safe school" funds,
Clegg said. The searches are typically conducted at schools on a weekly or
monthly basis, said Scott Edmonds, a former 16-year San Marino police
veteran and president of the Interquest's L.A. County office. "We don't try
to come in and bust kids," said Edmonds. "Our objective is to help deter
the presence of contraband."

Edmonds said schools contact Interquest and request a certain number of
days per year for unannounced dog searches.

A dog and handler show up at the school at 8:15 a.m. and stay until 11 a.m.
During that time, the canine team and a school administrator make random
visits to various classrooms, common areas, gym areas, lockers and parking
lots. Once the canine team decides to check a classroom, students are asked
to leave the room and leave their bags behind.

If a dog indicates the presence of drugs in a student's bag, the student
will be called into the classroom by the handler and the administrator. He
or she will then be notified of Interquest's purpose and asked if they'd
consent to have their bag checked.

"Almost all the time, the student will let us check his or her bag,"
Edmonds said. "If we find contraband, our job is done and the school takes
over."

If a student refuses to let an Interquest employee check their belongings,
Interquest immediately backs off and lets the school handle the situation,
Edmonds said.