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Article: State's highest court rules police drug roadblocks illegal.(News)
- Article from:
- The Boston Herald
- Article date:
- January 19, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Boston Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Cops can't fight the drug war by setting up roadblocks, the state's highest court ruled yesterday.
"There is a war on drugs going on, but one rule of engagement will be that people's privacy will be protected," American Civil Liberties Union lawyer William Newman said.
In a unanimous decision, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Holyoke police violated the state constitution in November 1997 when they set up a roadblock in a crime-ridden neighborhood to search for drug dealers.
Police stopped 58 cars during the two-hour operation but 23-year-old Hector Rodriguez was the only person arrested on a drug offense after police found two ...