Justices to pot users: Be careful when you flush

**lewisipso** · 01-13-11, 12:36 AM

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court isn't given to offering advice to people who are breaking the law, even in a minor way. But some justices on Wednesday effectively told those who might be sitting at home smoking pot when the police come knocking: Do not flush the toilet.
Because if officers smell the pot from the outside, think the occupants are trying to get rid of it and burst in without a search warrant to prevent evidence from being destroyed, some justices indicated they would approve.
The discussion arose during the court's consideration of a case about when the police can enter a home without a search warrant, which the Constitution normally requires.
There are exceptions, and the state of Kentucky argued that its treatment of Hollis King should be one such exception.
The issue for the justices is whether police action — in this case, a knock on a door — that triggers a reaction on the other side — like noise that suggests destruction of evidence — should justify the warrantless entry.
New Justice Elena Kagan said she worries the court could make it too easy for police to avoid the time and effort of getting warrant "in a very wide variety of cases." She said that view would require only that officers said they smelled "pot, we heard noise."

But Scalia was not showing any sympathy to King. With feigned outrage, he accused the police of "taking advantage of the stupidity of the criminals."
"That's terrible, that's not fair, is it?" he asked archly.

Justices to pot users: Be careful when you flush - Yahoo! News