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2000-2001 Preview U.S. Sup. Ct. Cas. 1 (2000-2001)

handle is hein.journals/prvw27 and id is 1 raw text is: COVERING THE COURT'S ENTIRE OCTOBER CALENDAR OF CASES, INCLUDING ... FERGUSON ET AL. V. CITY OF CHARLESTON, S.C. ET AL. After the staff at the Medical University of South Carolina expressed concerns about what was thought to be an epidemic of cocaine use by pregnant women, the hospital implemented a drug-testing policy. Under the policy, pregnant women were tested-without warrants or probable cause-for cocaine use. Positive test results were shared with law-enforcement officials, and some women were arrested and threatened with prosecution if they did not complete drug treatment. The question for the Supreme Court: Does the Fourth Amendment permit this sort of warrantless search of pregnant women at a public hospital? CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS V. EDMOND To interrupt the flow of illegal narcotics into the city, the Indianapolis Police Department launched a roadway-checkpoint program. Under the program, teams of officers stopped a predeter- mined number of cars, asked the drivers for their driver's license and registration, and informed them that they were being stopped at a drug checkpoint. The police then looked for signs of impairment, visually inspected the outside of the vehicle, and walked a drug-detection dog around the car. If the dog signaled an alert, or if the officers otherwise developed a reasonable suspi- cion or probable cause to believe that the vehicle's occupants were breaking the law, they searched the vehicle. The question for the Supreme Court: Does the Fourth Amendment permit this sort of warrantless seizure of a predetermined number of drivers at a drug-interdiction roadblock?