STATE HIGH COURT IS ASKED FOR RULING ON DRUG SEARCHES

Issue involves evidence that police obtained after surprise entry of homes

Appellate judges on Thursday asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to
decide whether evidence police obtained in drug investigations by
rushing into homes unannounced can be used at trial.

The dispute arose in three southern Wisconsin cases two from Rock
County and one from Columbia County because of a 1997 U.S. Supreme
Court ruling that said the Wisconsin Supreme Court was wrong when it
allowed no-knock searches in all felony drug cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously refused to create an exception to
its 1995 decision that said no-knock entries usually are unlawful,
prohibited by the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches.

Prosecution of the three cases, involving searches of homes in Beloit
and Portage, proceeded after the 1997 ruling, but the evidence used in
them was obtained before a no-knock search was considered illegal.

Other prosecutions for drug-related crimes are at stake in the
dispute, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Kleinmaier said, adding
that at least 10 or 12 similar cases could be affected.

The state has contended that the evidence obtained in the searches
may be used because police were acting under a law they thought was
constitutional, thus they were acting in good faith.

The 4th District Court of Appeals asked the Supreme Court to take up
the issue, saying the dispute has ties to a 1923 court decision
fashioned to deter police violations of the state constitution, court
records show.

In a no-knock search, officers have a judge's permission to barge into
a home without any announcement of who they are. Police have said such
power is needed because drug dealers often are armed and a speedy,
surprise entry prevents the destruction of evidence.

The 1997 decision said that police had to give a judge specific
reasons to obtain a no-knock search warrant that wouldn't violate a
suspect's constitutional rights.

In the three cases being referred to the state Supreme Court, two
circuit judges ruled that the evidence obtained in no-knock searches
could be used at trial, but a third judge said it couldn't. All the
judges made their rulings after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision was
handed down.

Attorneys for defendants argue in the appeals that there is "no
good-faith exception" allowing the evidence obtained in a tainted
search to be used at trial, because the state Supreme Court has never
created such an exception.

The 4th District Court of Appeals panel agreed.

"The Wisconsin Supreme Court's pronouncements on the question bear out
the view that the good-faith issue remains unresolved," the panel
said. "It is our recently expressed view that Wisconsin does not have
a good-faith exception."

Assistant State Public Defender William Schmaal said the central issue
of the appeals has come up before in cases before the high court, but
the justices avoided having to deal with it.