Pubdate: Mon, 22 May 2000 Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY) Copyright: 2000 Casper Star-Tribune Contact: P.O. Box 80, Casper, WY 82602-0080 Fax: (307) 266-0568 Website: http://www.trib.com/ Author: Associated Press STATE SUPREME COURT REVERSES DRUG CONVICTION AGAIN CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A drug conviction that reached the U.S. Supreme Court has been reversed by the Wyoming Supreme Court for a second time. The court has ordered a new trial for Sandra Houghton, who was convicted of methamphetamine possession and sentenced to two to three years in prison following her 1995 arrest. Jurors should have been told to consider a lesser offense for Houghton because she contended she did not know anything about a bag of liquid methamphetamine found in her purse by an officer, according to the May 18 opinion written by Chief Justice Larry Lehman. Houghton was convicted of a felony but could have been convicted of a misdemeanor if jurors believed her argument, the opinion said. Authorities had seized a syringe and vial containing nearly eight-tenths of a gram of liquid methamphetamine in a brown bag, and a second syringe containing a tenth of a gram in a black bag. Houghton had confessed to owning the black bag with the smaller amount of methamphetamine. Any amount of the drug in excess of three-tenths of a gram is considered a felony. The court initially reversed the conviction on grounds that a highway patrol officer who stopped the car she was riding in conducted an illegal search by going through her purse. The driver, David Young, had been stopped on Interstate 25 near Casper for traffic violations. The officer searched the car after spotting a syringe in the Young's pocket. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling, saying passengers' personal belongings are fair game when police officers search a car for criminal evidence against the driver. At the time of its first ruling, the state court had not considered the additional issues raised by Houghton on her appeal, including the lesser offense option. But in its second ruling, the court also said Houghton waived her rights when she talked to an investigator who claimed she said all the drugs in her purse belonged to her. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake