SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE SEARCH LAWS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court today agreed to use an Iowa case to
decide whether police can be given blanket permission to search people's
cars without consent after stopping them for routine traffic violations.

The court said it will hear an Iowa man's argument that a police search of
his car that turned up marijuana violated the Constitution's Fourth
Amendment protection against unreasonable searches.

Patrick Knowles was stopped for speeding on March 6, 1996, in Newton, Iowa.
A police officer gave him a speeding ticket and then searched Knowles and
the passenger compartment of his car.

The officer found marijuana and a pipe in the car, and Knowles was
arrested. He was charged with possession of marijuana and keeping marijuana
in his car.

During Knowles' trial, the policeman testified that he did not suspect
Knowles was involved in criminal activity and that Knowles did not consent
to the search.

But a state trial judge ruled against Knowles' argument that the marijuana
should not be used as evidence.

Knowles was convicted and sentenced to 90 days in jail. The Iowa Supreme
Court upheld his convictions last October, saying the search was justified
by Iowa law and allowed by the Constitution.

Under Iowa law, police can either make an arrest or issue a citation for a
traffic violation. If they issue a citation the law allows them to make an
``otherwise lawful search.''

The Iowa Supreme Court has interpreted this to allow police to conduct a
search whenever they could have arrested someone, including for a traffic
violation.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that police can search people upon arrest,
citing a need to disarm suspects and preserve evidence.

Knowles' appeal to the nation's highest court said Iowa was the only state
to authorize a search whenever a traffic citation is issued.

Such blanket authority is arbitrary and ``almost certainly invites police
to utilize the power in a discriminatory manner,'' the appeal said.

Prosecutors said stopping motorists and detaining them to issue a citation
is similar enough to an arrest to justify a search for purpose of
protecting officers' safety. States have broad discretion over such safety
concerns, they said.

The case is Knowles vs. Iowa, 97-7597.