Pubdate: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/ Author: William A. Newsom Note: Mr. Newsom is a retired Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal DRUG-TEST LEGISLATORS Editor -- If I read right in a recent Chronicle news article, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided that evidence of recent drug use by teachers isn't necessary to justify mandatory drug-testing of teachers, who must, as the court reasoned, stay alert to ensure the safety of students. As a retired Appeals Court judge, I would like to take this occasion to propose that judges, including Supreme Court justices, be regularly drug-tested, at least in cases involving drug-testing issues, in order to ensure their alertness in evaluating the alertness of those responsible for the safety of students. I hope I am not stretching an important point in proposing that legislators who pass laws requiring drug-testing, whether of teachers or judges, ought themselves to be drug-tested before voting on such laws. WILLIAM A. NEWSOM Associate Justice California Court of Appeal (ret.) Dutch Flat - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder