June 6, 2006 — 666
Police powers ruling expected to hinge on Alito
Sat May 20, 2006 04:50

 
Police powers ruling expected to hinge on Alito
Justices rehear case on house-search rule

By Charles Lane
The Washington Post
Published May 19, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court held a rare mid-May oral argument Thursday on the power of police to search private homes without knocking first--a major privacy-rights case likely to be decided by the vote of the court's newest member, Justice Samuel Alito.

At issue in Hudson vs. Michigan is the "knock and announce" rule rooted in the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and Anglo-American common law. The rule says that, in normal cases, police with a search warrant must first knock and state their purpose, then wait a reasonable period, before forcing their way in.

Most federal and state courts that have considered the question have said courts must exclude evidence seized by police who failed to follow the rule. But in recent years the Michigan Supreme Court has joined the minority that say no such "exclusionary rule" is required.

When the court first heard oral argument on Jan. 9, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor still was on the bench. But O'Connor stepped down in favor of Alito before the court could issue its opinion.

The court then announced it would hear arguments again. It gave no reason, but because it would have been able to issue a decision if there still were five votes for one side or the other without O'Connor, the most probable explanation is that the court was divided 4-4 and needs Alito, a former prosecutor who built a strong pro-police record as a federal appeals judge, to break the tie.

Liberals on the court openly worried that Michigan's approach would carry the day--effectively gutting the knock and announce rule and, potentially, other restrictions on police searches as well.

Justice Stephen Breyer said that if the court rules in Michigan's favor, "we'd let a kind of computer virus loose in the 4th Amendment. I don't know what the consequences would be."

Michigan courts upheld the 2002 drug possession conviction of Booker Hudson, ruling that the officers who burst into his Detroit home three to five seconds after shouting "Police! Search warrant!" would have found crack cocaine in his jeans even if they had knocked and waited.

Under a 1999 Michigan Supreme Court ruling, defendants such as Hudson can prevail only if they show that the police's failure to knock on the door directly caused the discovery of the evidence.

Michigan does not deny that the officers technically violated the knock and announce rule. It argues rather that, because they had a warrant, their presence in the house was legal even if the way they got inside was not.

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
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Hopewell Valley police, school officials say 6/6/06 gun talk is not true
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer 05/18/2006
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CHS principal told parents Tuesday about a "rumor circulating in the school community about a student bringing a gun to school on June 6"

Hopewell Township police say there "is not one scintilla of truth to the rumor" that an unidentified Hopewell Valley Central High School student plans to bring a gun to school on June 6, 2006 — 666, the number cultists link to the Antichrist.

Police and school officials "are confident that it will be as safe to attend school on June 6 as it is every other school day," Police Chief George Meyer said Wednesday.

"If we believed for one minute that student safety was in jeopardy we would recommend closing the school. We do not believe student safety is at issue, but we will continue investigating and working with school officials on the matter, he said."

In a letter sent home to parents Tuesday, Principal Joseph Mangiaracina said an investigation had found no evidence of any threat, but that it had produced "evidence of false accusations."

"The administration will deal with these false accusations in the same serious manner as we would any other form of harassment," Mr. Mangiaracina said.

When asked Wednesday to elaborate on the matter, the principal said: "This is an ongoing investigation that involves several students," he added Wednesday, noting he was not at liberty to say more.

"The school contacted the Police Department as soon as school administration learned of this rumor," Chief Meyer said Wednesday.

"Detective Ray Pental has been working closely with school officials investigating the threat contained in the rumor — a student bringing a gun to school on the 6th intent on doing harm," Chief Meyer said. "Detective Pental has shared the results of his investigation thus far with his supervisors, including myself, and we are all of the opinion that there is not one scintilla of truth to the rumor.

"That being said, the rumor persists. Our investigation and vigilance will continue. Working with school officials we will take necessary measures to ensure the safety of all students everyday at school."

When referring to the date, 6/6/06, the chief mentioned "666," the numbers many link to the Bible's Book of Revelation 13:18, which says, "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six."

A May 1 report in the Denver Post said: "With June 6, 2006, rapidly approaching, authorities in Colorado and elsewhere are carefully watching to see if that date — 6/6/06 — spurs demonstrations or violent activity. They are aware that 666 signifies the Mark of the Beast or the Antichrist to some organizations and believe June 6 is a date that could trigger problems."

In his letter to parents sent home Tuesday, Mr. Mangiaracina said: "Central High School administration is aware of the rumor circulating in the school community about a student bringing a gun to school on June 6. This is to assure you that once these threats became known to the administration, we immediately responded by investigating every tip, every lead, every person connected to these rumors. In addition, all appropriate steps were taken, including consulting with the Hopewell Township Police Department, to interview students, to secure identified areas at risk, and to increase faculty awareness. We wish to be very clear: our ongoing investigations have produced no evidence that such an event is imminent or even being planned."

Mr. Mangiaracina was scheduled to speak directly with students in grades nine, 10, and 11 Wednesday morning to allay the fears or concerns many students have expressed. Seniors will be spoken to Friday during the pre-prom assembly. At these meetings, the principal planned to "reassure students that their school was safe and caution them about the dangers and liabilities of spreading unfounded rumors that could cause mass disruption, even hysteria, in the high school."

School board attorney Robert Martinez said Wednesday morning that the 666 gun rumor "is completely unconnected" to the cases of four Central High School students who have been disciplined for bringing toy guns to school during the past few weeks. The guns they brought were Air-Soft guns, which shoot harmless plastic BBs. Bringing a toy gun to school is prohibited by the district.

After discussing the cases in closed session Monday night, the school board approved plans to readmit the four students to school, provided they admitted bringing the toy guns to school and complied with disciplinary measures. Those measures varied from student to student, Mr. Martinez said, and involved such measures as requirements to do community service and being prohibited from some extracurricular activities for a certain length of time.

©PACKETONLINE News Classifieds Entertainment Business - Princeton and Central New Jersey 2006

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