SEARCH WARRANT LAW IS A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT

Before the war on terror, there was the war on drugs. And, just as
anti-terrorism has spawned a whole range of questionable laws and
procedures at the federal level, the same thing has been happening as
authorities go after drug-dealers.

A law went into effect in Michigan last week that gives police the right to
search a house without telling anyone why - including the person who is the
target of a search.

Search warrants and supporting documents, which previously were open for
public inspection as they are in Pennsylvania and other states, are now
automatically closed to public view. The law zipped through the
Legislature, with the House voting for it unanimously and the Senate
approving it 27-8.

Supporters of the law said it was necessary to protect victims, witnesses
and confidential informants in drug cases. But, of course, it is not
limited to drug cases - all search warrants are now secret, regardless of
what the police are looking for.

Previously, the person whose property was being searched was shown a copy
of the warrant and any affidavits the police used to persuade the court to
issue the warrant. Now, you have no right to see anything. ("Why do you
want to search my house?" "None of your business.")

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution forbids "unreasonable searches and
seizures." It also provides that warrants be issued only "upon probable
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

This requires the police to appear before a judge and show a reason why a
search is justified. Their search has to be limited to a particular place
and they have to tell what they are looking for. Under Michigan law,
however, there is no way to check whether they have done this or not.

No doubt, some police agencies have found the traditional rules burdensome.
But the men who wrote our Constitution believed that the government should
have to dot every "i" and cross every "t" before it could lock one of its
citizens up. They were familiar with a police state and wrote in safeguards
against it.

We have already justified cutting a few corners in the name of fighting the
drug trade. Federal and local authorities have confiscated cash, vehicles
and houses from people who were never even charged with a crime.

Michigan will now cut corners on search warrants. But it will not be just
in drug cases - and it will not stop at Michigan. If the courts let this
stand, other states will be pressured to follow suit, and we will lose
another legal protection.