COURT REVERSES SEARCH WARRANT DECISION

LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- An affidavit for a search warrant was
insufficient to justify a nighttime search of the home of a man
convicted of drug charges in Lonoke County Circuit Court, the
Arkansas Court of Appeals said Wednesday.

Convicted of possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamine
and the simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, Larry Stivers
appealed. Stivers, sentenced to 10 years in prison, said the trial
court made a mistake when it denied his motion to suppress evidence.

Police obtained a search warrant to search Stivers' Carlisle home in
the summer of 1999 and served the warrant shortly after 1 a.m. At the
time, officers found methamphetamine, marijuana, a rifle and a
shotgun.

The warrant, issued by the Carlisle municipal court judge, stated
that "because the items to be seized are in imminent danger of
destruction or removal, a nighttime search is authorized."