Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Copyright: 1999, The Columbus Dispatch Website: http://www.dispatch.com/ Contact: Associated Press LIMITS ON POLICE SEARCHES DEBATED U.S. SUPREME COURT Washington - The U.S. Supreme Court heard hour-long arguments yesterday in cases dealing with sexual harassment of students by other students and the limits on police searches during traffic stops. The search of Sandra Houghton's purse during a drug-related traffic stop falls into a gray area of the law. The Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure have set a high standard for police, and the court ruled in 1948 that police cannot search passengers without any reason to believe they had broken the law. However, the justices said in a 1982 case that if police believe a vehicle contains drugs or other illegal materials, the officers can search any container that could be used as a hiding place. The question is whether Houghton's purse is merely one of the containers within the car, or whether it is so personal that it should not be searched unless police had reason to believe she was carrying drugs. After stopping David Young for speeding in 1995, Wyoming police saw a hypodermic syringe in his pocket. Young confessed he had taken drugs, and he and two female passengers were ordered out of the car. While looking for drugs, the officers went through Houghton's purse and found drug paraphernalia and liquid methamphetamine. However, the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned Houghton's felony conviction, ruling that police should never have looked in her purse. Ohio joined 29 other states in urging the high court to permit police to search purses of passengers during these sorts of traffic stops. - --- MAP posted-by: derek rea