LAWYER, COPS SHOULD PLAY BY SAME RULES

Dear Editor: In 1994, in State v. Johnston, the Wisconsin Supreme Court
held, 4-3, that there was nothing wrong when police used a ruse to gain
entry to a defendant's home and seized evidence without a warrant.

The court said that when undercover officers presented themselves as
civilian partygoers, the host's consent for them to enter was legally
valid and extended not only to defeat the warrant requirement as to
them, but as to a squad of uniformed officers who rushed in after them.

Now one of our foremost criminal defense lawyers, Stephen Hurley,
stands accused of impropriety for employing just such a ruse to
consensually obtain crucial evidence.

If we are going to require investigators to tell the truth about
themselves, let's start with the police.

Jeff Scott Olson,

Madison