JUDGE'S RULING FAVORS STOUDAMIRE

OREGON CITY - Portland Trail Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire won a
ruling Wednesday that could force the dismissal of a felony drug charge.

Clackamas County Circuit Judge John Lowe ruled that marijuana found at
Stoudamire's suburban Lake Oswego house after police were called to
investigate a burglar alarm could not be used as evidence. A
prosecutor said he would appeal the ruling.

Police found a large bag of marijuana behind an attic door while
searching the house for intruders after two neighbors reported
Stoudamire's front door was ajar and the alarm was beeping inside an
hour after Stoudamire left for a game Feb. 23.

Lowe said he could find "no precedent in this state for upholding such
a search of a private residence."

On Tuesday, Lowe rejected the two strongest arguments prosecutors made
for the search, ruling there was no legal justification without a
warrant and that Stoudamire had not given consent.

Stoudamire's attorney, Stephen Houze, said he was "very pleased" that
Lowe had rejected all three prosecution arguments to justify the
search, calling the ruling "well reasoned" and backed by "well-settled
law."

"The privacy rights of a person in his own home are paramount," Houze
said. "This is the constitutional protection everybody has."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Greg Horner said he would appeal,
calling the decision "a ruling that defies common sense." If the
appeal is rejected, the case is expected to be dismissed.

Stoudamire released a statement thanking his family and supporters and
saying he was ready to turn his attention to basketball.