FLORIDA JUDGE BLOCKS DRUG TESTING OF WELFARE APPLICANTS

The Injunction Says Testing Applicants For Welfare May Be Illegal Search
And Seizure

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Florida's controversial
law requiring welA-fare applicants be drug tested in order to receive
benefits.

Judge Mary Scriven issued a temporary injunction against the state,
writing in a 37-page order that the law could violate the
Constitution's Fourth AmendA-ment ban on illegal search and seizure.

'The constitutional rights of a class of citizen are at stake,'
Scriven wrote in an order filed in the Middle District of Florida
Orlando Division.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state last month on behalf
of Luis Lebron, a 35A-year-old Navy veteran and single father from
Orlando who is finA-ishing his college degree.

Lebron met all the criteria for receiving welfare but refused to
submit to a drug test on the grounds that requiring him to pay for and
submit to one is unreasonable when there is no reason to believe he
uses drugs.

Gov. Rick Scott, who signed the measure into law on May 31, touted it
as a way to ensure taxA-payer money isn't 'wasted' on those who use
drugs. 'Hopefully more people will focus on not using illegal drugs,'
he said then.

But, in her order, Scriven issued a scathing assessment of the state's
argument in favor of the drug tests, saying the state failed to prove
'special needs' as to why it should conduct such searches without
probable cause or reasonable suspicion, as the law requires.

'If invoking an interest in preA-venting public funds from
potenA-tially being used to fund drug use were the only requirement to
establish a special need,' Scriven wrote, 'the state could impose drug
testing as an eligibility requirement for every beneficiary of every
government program. Such blanket intrusions cannot be countenanced
under the Fourth Amendment.' Jackie Schutz, deputy press secretary for
Gov. Scott, sent an e-mailed statement in response to Scriven's order.

'Drug testing welfare recipients is just a common-sense way to ensure
that welfare dollars are used to help children and get parents back to
work,' Schutz wrote. 'The governor obviously disagrees with the
decision, and he will evaluate his options regarding when to appeal.'
ACLU attorney Maria Kayanan said she was thrilled with Scriven's
order, though she suspects the state will appeal.

'This is a great day for Florida,' Kayanan said. 'The law is a
reflection of ugly stereotypes that people who need a helping hand
from the state are drug dealers.' Earlier this year, Scott also
ordered drug testing of new state workers and spot checks of existing
state employees under him. But testing was suspended after the
American Civil Liberties Union also challenged that policy in a
separate lawsuit.

Nearly 1,600 applicants have refused to take the test since testing
began in mid July, but they aren't required to say why. Thirty-two
applicants failed the test, and more than 7,000 have passed, according
to the Department of Children and Families. The majority of positives
were for marijuana.

Supporters of the law say applicants skipped the test because they
knew they would have tested positive for drugs. Applicants must pay
$25 to $45 for the test and are reimbursed by the state if they pass.
It's unclear if the state has saved money.

Under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the state
gives $180 a month for one person or $364 for a family of four.

Those who test positive for drugs are ineligible for the cash
assistance for one year, though passing a drug course can cut that
period in half. If they fail a second time, they are ineligible for
three years.

Besides finding that the state so far has failed to adequately defend
its position in support of drug testing, Scriven's order on Monday
cited the fact that a 2003 state-sanctioned study of drug use among
welfare recipients indicated the incidence of drug use was lower among
Florida's state welfare recipients than among the general population.

The authors of that study specifically recommended that the state not
expand such drug testing because of the high costs of testing compared
with the potential benefits.

Lebron, who is the sole caretaker of his 4-year-old son, said he's
'happy that the judge stood up for me and my rights and said the state
can't act without a reason or suspicion.' Lebron is a student at
University of Central Florida pursuing a bachelor's degree in
accounting and expects to graduate in December, according to the complaint.

The ACLU says Florida was the first to enact such a law since Michigan
tried more than a decade ago. Michigan's random drug testing program
for welfare recipients lasted five weeks in 1999 before it was halted
by a judge, kicking off a four-year legal battle that ended with an
appeals court ruling it unconstitutional.