GROUP TO INFORM DRIVERS OF RIGHTS IN SEARCHES

TRENTON, May 8 - The Black Ministers Council of New Jersey today announced
a campaign to inform minority drivers that they have a right to refuse to
submit to so-called automobile consent searches, which have been the focus
of the fight over racial profiling.

The ministers said at a State House news conference that they would begin
their "Just Say No" campaign next week, in messages to minority churches
and the news media.

Consent searches, in the past, could be based on little more than a
trooper's hunch. But in March, the State Supreme Court handed down a ruling
requiring that police officers have an "articulable suspicion" before
searching a driver's car, effectively ending a majority of searches. The
ruling did not alter probable cause searches, which can be conducted
without the driver's consent when there is physical evidence, like the
smell of drugs or alcohol, or a weapon visible in the car.

The Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, executive director of the council, said that
the ruling would not stop all police officers, particularly municipal
officers, from trying to make unfounded searches.

"Even though the court has ruled, a lot of people really don't know that
you have the right to say no without being afraid that there will be some
kind of repercussion," Mr. Jackson said in an interview. "So part of the
campaign will be to tell people what to do if they are stopped."