LEGAL CHALLENGE THREATENS DRUG CASES

Lawyer Says Task Force Paperwork Is Faulty

A legal challenge to the authority of some drug detectives in southern
Kentucky raises the threat of charges being dismissed in numerous cases.

The issue centers on whether Operation UNITE properly filed the
agreement under which local officers work as part of the federally
funded multi-county task force.

McKee attorney Sharon K. Allen has argued that UNITE officers did not
have jurisdiction to investigate cases in Jackson County or arrest a
woman she represents, in part because the agency filed its operating
agreement with the county in the wrong courthouse office.

The challenge could snowball throughout the 10 other counties in
UNITE's Cumberland Area Task Force and, depending on court rulings,
affect the outcome of hundreds of charges.

The counties in the Cumberland region are Bell, Clay, Harlan, Jackson,
Knox, Laurel, McCreary, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Wayne and Whitley.

"There very well could be a lot of cases and/or charges dismissed,"
Allen said.

UNITE could not say yesterday how many arrests it has made in the
Cumberland region this year.

Circuit Judge R. Cletus Maricle heard initial arguments on the
challenge to the UNITE cases Tuesday. Assistant Commonwealth's
Attorney Richie Couch argued that the officers had authority to make
arrests in Jackson County.

Maricle did not issue an immediate ruling. The judge scheduled another
hearing Dec. 7 in order to give attorneys time to submit written arguments.

UNITE will file a brief or work with the prosecution on its argument
and will vigorously defend its operations, said London attorney Tom
Jensen, who represents the program.

UNITE stands for Unlawful Narcotics Investigation, Treatment and
Education. As the name indicates, the program has three pieces:
increased investigation of street-level drug sales, treatment for
addicts, and expanded education to prevent drug abuse.

U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers, reacting to what he called an epidemic
of drug abuse, addiction and death, got $8 million in federal funding
to start the program in 2003 and another $8 million this year.

UNITE officers started making cases in January and have since arrested
more than 400 people, including more than 200 in one roundup -- one of
the largest in state history -- in April in the Hazard area.

The detectives making undercover drug buys for UNITE are employees of
local police and sheriff's departments who work for the regional task
forces under an agreement between the federally funded agency and
local government.

The agreement is designed to allow officers from one county in the
task force to work cases throughout the region, so UNITE can shift
officers as needed for investigations and bring in police unknown to
local drug dealers to make undercover buys.

That agreement, key to the challenge that has come up, becomes
effective only after several steps have been completed, including
having the county judge sign the deal after authorization by the
fiscal court, and filing a certified copy of the agreement with the
Kentucky secretary of state and the county clerk.

In Jackson County, UNITE filed the agreement in the circuit clerk's
office, Allen said, not in the county clerk's office.

That means the agreement was not valid so officers from elsewhere had
no jurisdiction to conduct investigations in Jackson County, Allen
argues.

The issue might appear to be a technicality, but it is a serious
question about constitutional rights and whether UNITE followed the
law, Allen said.

Allen said police from the cities of Manchester, London, Cumberland
and the sheriff's departments in Laurel and Rockcastle counties
participated in the case against her client, Trish Singleton.

Singleton, 38, was charged with selling prescription drugs to
informants twice and with possessing drugs with intent to sell.

Allen has raised other challenges to the case against Singleton,
including that UNITE started investigating Singleton before filing a
copy of the operating agreement in Frankfort.

Allen also has argued that, because the agreement involves 11 counties
under one task force umbrella, if it wasn't valid in one it wasn't
valid in any.

Attorneys representing several other drug defendants in Jackson County
have joined Allen's motion. It's likely that defense attorneys will
file similar challenges in UNITE cases in the rest of the Cumberland
region, and perhaps look into potential similar challenges in the
other UNITE regions.

"It's going to be a lot of litigation," Allen said.

Judges could rule that UNITE was in substantial compliance with the
law, sparing its cases, but defense attorneys would probably appeal.

If judges agree with defense attorneys, it could mean whole cases
would be dismissed, or individual charges within cases, depending on
the facts, Allen said.

Jensen said UNITE is researching the issue and checking the agreements
it filed. There does not appear to be a problem with the paperwork
filed in counties in the Kentucky River and Big Sandy task force
areas, Jensen said.