COURT RULES OUT POT AS EVIDENCE

A Nebraska man found with 1 pound of marijuana won't be prosecuted if an
Appeals Court opinion stands.On Tuesday, the Appeals Court said the drugs
should be suppressed as evidence because authorities based the search on an
unreliable source.

Jerry S. Keen of Kearney County was arrested in February 1998 after the
Nebraska State Patrol seized the marijuana from his home.

"I'm obviously happy about the decision," Keen's attorney, Greg C. Harris
of Kearney, said. "I don't think I should comment any more because they
might appeal this to the Supreme Court." Kearney County Attorney David G.
Wondra was unavailable Tuesday. Harris said authorities found "a touch more
than a pound" of marijuana in Keen's home.

According to the opinion Tuesday, the Kearney County Sheriff's Office
received an anonymous telephone tip in September 1997 that Keen was selling
marijuana for sex. The office then passed the information to the State Patrol.

On Feb. 10, 1998, patrol officer Jeffrey Shelton, dressed in civilian
clothes, went to Keen's home, identified himself, and told Keen about the
marijuana report. Keen invited the officer inside and, after questioning
from him, produced the marijuana.

At no time did Shelton tell Keen he was under arrest and was free to end
the interview.

Keen was subsequently charged with possession of marijuana weighing more
than 1 pound. He pleaded not guilty and filed a motion in Kearney County
District Court to have the marijuana suppressed.

District Court Judge Stephen Illingworth later ruled the telephone tip was
unreliable and stale and granted Keen's motion. Prosecutors appealed to the
appeals court.

In upholding Illingworth, the Appeals Court focused on prosecutors' failure
to show the anonymous caller was a reliable source. "The caller was never
identified, and there is no indication in this record that further
investigation was made as to the reliability of that information," the
court said. "Such information would not justify the issuance of a search
warrant."