COURT SUPPORTS POLICE IN DRUG ARRESTS

If drugs found in car, all occupants can be arrested

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court issued a traffic warning Monday: Beware of
whom you ride with. If drugs are found in a vehicle, all occupants can be
arrested, the justices said in a unanimous decision.

It was a victory for Maryland and 20 other states that argued police
frequently find drugs in traffic stops but no one in the vehicle claims
them. The court gave officers the go-ahead to arrest everyone.

In a small space like a car, an officer could reasonably infer "a common
enterprise" among a driver and passengers, the justices ruled.

The case stemmed from an incident in 1999, when police in the Baltimore
suburbs pulled over a speeding car. A search revealed a roll of cash in the
glove compartment and cocaine in an armrest in the back seat.

The driver and the two passengers denied having anything to do with the
contraband, so all three men were arrested.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, writing for the court, said police had
probable cause to suspect that the drugs belonged to any of the three, or
all of them.

Lisa Kemler, a criminal defense attorney from Alexandria, Va., said the
court seems to be saying: "know who your company is."

"How many times have you gotten a ride with a friend? Are you going to peer
around in their glove compartment?" asked Kemler, who fears the ruling will
lead to a police dragnet. "You could find probable cause to arrest
everybody."

Michael Rushford, president of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a
pro-law enforcement group, said police can't be expected to sort out
ownership of drugs or guns in the middle of a traffic stop.

"You certainly wouldn't let three people with Uzis in their car leave
because no one would admit the uzis were theirs," he said.

Maryland's highest court had thrown out the conviction of a passenger in the
car, Joseph Jermaine Pringle, on grounds that his arrest violated the
Constitution's Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches or seizures.
The Supreme Court reversed that decision.

"Pringle's attempt to characterize this case as a guilt-by-association case
is unavailing," Rehnquist wrote in the brief decision.

Pringle told police later that the drugs were his and that he had planned to
swap them for sex or money at a party. His 10-year prison sentence will be
reinstated.

The American Civil Liberties Union and National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers filed a brief supporting Pringle. Their attorney said the
ruling will sweep innocent passengers into criminal cases.

"There's nothing in this opinion to prevent a police officer from arresting
a graduate student who is offered a ride home late at night from a party
that she has attended with some fellow students," said Tracey Maclin, a
Boston University law professor.

The court's rationale could be used in other police search cases, involving
homes, Maclin said.

The ruling dealt with the discovery of drugs and cash, but it could apply to
other contraband as well.

Supporting Maryland in the case were the Bush administration, along with
Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana,
Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Puerto
Rico.

The case is Maryland v. Pringle, 02-809.