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Judge Declares State Worker Drug Testing Order Unconstitutional
NBCMiami ^ | 04/26/2012 | unknown

Posted on 04/26/2012 1:22:00 PM PDT by redreno

A federal judge declared Gov. Rick Scott's order requiring drug testing for some 85,000 state workers unconstitutional Thursday, saying the governor showed no evidence of a drug problem at the agencies to warrant suspicionless testing.

The ruling marks the second blow to Scott's proposals regarding drug testing. The governor also suspended a state law he supported that required drug testing for welfare recipients last year after a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. A federal judge in Orlando has temporarily blocked that law.

The ACLU and a government worker's union also filed a lawsuit last year challenging Scott's order to drug test state employees, saying the testing violates the Fourth Amendment by subjecting state workers to an unreasonable search without adequate suspicion that they used drugs. Scott, who suspended drug testing for state employees in June, said he will appeal Thursday's ruling.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcmiami.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Extended News; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: abuse; drugs; florida; test; warondrugs; wod; wodlist; wosd
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1 posted on 04/26/2012 1:22:15 PM PDT by redreno
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To: redreno
saying the governor showed no evidence of a drug problem at the agencies to warrant suspicionless testing.

Since when did that become the criteria for drug testing? All sorts of government departments and companies drug test and I've never heard that they had to prove an existing drug problem existed. This ruling sounds like something that will be overturned rather easily.

2 posted on 04/26/2012 1:32:40 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: redreno
That's a bummer. By the way, I hold Gov. Scott in high regard. I met him a couple weeks ago at the airport and got my picture taken with him. I sent him a thank-you email letting him know I appreciated him taking the time to speak with me. I got a handwritten thank you note back (short and to the point):

Photobucket

Pretty cool to get that in this day and age.

3 posted on 04/26/2012 1:34:47 PM PDT by Dan Nunn (Support the NRA!)
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To: redreno
In general, I've changed my mind about drug laws and find myself agreeing with Milton Friedman: that making drugs illegal does more harm than good. More people become addicts and die because of the laws than if there were no drug laws.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E3jDdNTFXE

4 posted on 04/26/2012 1:36:08 PM PDT by PapaNew
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To: redreno

Judge kudos...less government is better


5 posted on 04/26/2012 1:40:12 PM PDT by stuartcr ("When silence speaks, it speaks only to those that have already decided what they want to hear.")
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To: Longbow1969

Appeal it Rick, don’t wimp out now. All government employess ought to have this as part of the test for determining if they meet requirements to hold public trust.


6 posted on 04/26/2012 1:48:39 PM PDT by izzatzo (Just beat Obama.)
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To: Longbow1969

I don’t know how this squares with either the military drug testing policies, or the Department of Transportation policies of randomly testing flight crews.


7 posted on 04/26/2012 1:48:55 PM PDT by ALPAPilot
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To: izzatzo

And, confidence.


8 posted on 04/26/2012 1:49:45 PM PDT by izzatzo (Just beat Obama.)
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To: redreno

Yes, the Government shouldn’t be allowed to drug test people without reasonable suspicion, even it’s own employees.

This says nothing about private drug testing of course. Also says nothing about whether the Judge did this out of partisanship.


9 posted on 04/26/2012 1:50:41 PM PDT by MetaThought
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To: redreno

I’m of two minds on this. I despise the war on drugs and every manifestation of it. OTOH, let the people who rule over us feel the heavy hand of government regulation in fighting that ‘war’.


10 posted on 04/26/2012 1:53:55 PM PDT by Ken H (Austerity is the irresistible force. Entitlements are the immovable object.)
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To: Ken H

The bigger picture is that state and federal courts have shot down too many reforms from the FL legislature.

From charter schools, to state employee contributions to their retirement/health care, drug testing in order to receive state benefits . . . a court has stood in the way of fiscal and morality based reforms.


11 posted on 04/26/2012 2:14:08 PM PDT by Jacquerie (No court will save us from ourselves.)
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To: redreno
No drug testing (certain people), Exempt from the Health Care Law.....(certain people) ... Gee, It must be nice to work for the Government these days.
12 posted on 04/26/2012 2:16:20 PM PDT by Pickles911
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To: PapaNew
making drugs illegal does more harm than good.

Indeed. Let's stop channeling hyperinflated profits into criminal hands.

13 posted on 04/26/2012 2:41:08 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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To: JustSayNoToNannies
"making drugs illegal does more harm than good."

"Indeed. Let's stop channeling hyperinflated profits into criminal hands."

Yes; and let's tax the Legalized drugs at about 400%, because unless a TAX can be had, they will legalize NOTHING.

Why do you think they don't ban cigarettes or liquor?

14 posted on 04/26/2012 2:52:36 PM PDT by traditional1 (Don't gotsta worry 'bout no mo'gage, don't gotsta worry 'bout no gas; Obama gonna take care o' me!)
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To: traditional1
I fully expect that legal drugs would be taxed, and I'm OK with that.
15 posted on 04/26/2012 2:56:03 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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To: traditional1

Seriously, though, I think illegal use of drugs (heroin, cocaine, mj, meth) pales in comparison to the abuse of legal prescription anti-depressants and pain killers, etc.


16 posted on 04/26/2012 3:02:20 PM PDT by djf (Life's a play, we're actors not authors, and nobody even cared to give us the script!)
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To: redreno
i guess that means no place else can do it either... please
17 posted on 04/26/2012 4:07:56 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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18 posted on 04/26/2012 5:04:41 PM PDT by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
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To: redreno

Every employer in the country is allowed, under law, to have mandatory drug testing. Even WalMart drug tests applicants.

But the government can’t? No - we can’t be accountable in any way.


19 posted on 04/26/2012 5:18:31 PM PDT by TheBattman (Isn't the lesser evil... still evil?)
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To: Chode
i guess that means no place else can do it either

The Constitution limits government, not any place else.

20 posted on 04/27/2012 12:03:46 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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