State Attorney General Peter Verniero asked the nation's high court
yesterday to reverse a decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court that he says
undermines the war on drugs.

On July 16. a divided state Supreme Court said 59 vials of cocaine found in
the refrigerator of an Elizabeth apartment was inadmissible in court because
the police who had relied on an informant's tip, did not have sufficient
information to conduct a warrantless search of the apartment.

With the 4-3 ruling, the state Supreme Court set aside the conviction of
Shawn Smith of Elizabeth who pleaded guilty to selling drugs within 1,000
feet of a school.

Yesterday, Verniero petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that
ruling, saying the case raises important issues for law enforcement
throughout the nation. The use of informants is vital in the war on drugs,
Verniero said, and so it is critical that police officers be given guidance
from the courts in the handling of informants' tips.

The case that the Attorney General would like the high court to consider
arose from a tip Elizabeth police received on Feb. 23, 1993. They were told
a black male wearing a threequarter-length jacket and a yellow cap was
selling narcotics out of the lobby of the Oakwood Plaza apartment building,
at 400 Irvington Ave. Elizabeth.

The informant said the dealer-who police later identified as Smith- would
take orders from people in the lobby then go to apartment 2L and retrieve
the drugs. The informant also gave the description of the car Smith was
driving. along with the license plate number.

The police went to the apartment building, found Smith. who met the
description provided by the informant, and searched him. After discovering a
key in his pocket that fit apartment 2L. they decided they wanted to search
the apartment. Because it was not rented to Smith. the police contacted the
tenant. a woman who was pregnant and hospitalized. and she gave them
permission to search.

Without more detailed information from the informant. the New Jersey Supreme
Court said the police should have used surveillance or other investigative
tools to bolster the informant's tip before conducting a warrantless search.

Mark H. Friedman. the assistant public defender who argued the case on
behalf of Smith, said he thinks it is doubtful that the nation's highest
court would hear the case since the court turns down about 98 percent of
those who petition for a hearing.

Checked-by: Don Beck