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DrugScreening.org


 
Court Says Parents of Offender Can't Be Forced to Take Drug Tests
November 26, 2008

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News Summary

The parents of a girl sentenced to probation for petty theft can't be required to submit to drug testing as a condition of their child's sentence, the Idaho Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Idaho Statesman reported Nov. 15 that District Magistrate Robert Burton ordered the girl's parents to submit to random alcohol and other drug tests when he placed the daughter on probation for a year. Six months later, the girl was accused of violating her probation and the parents allegedly tested positive for marijuana.

After the parents appealed Burton's order, a District Court said the testing should continue but the Idaho Court of Appeals disagreed, saying the ruling violated the parents' rights against unlawful searches.

The Appeals Court said that while it was reasonable for the judge to conclude that the daughter's rehabilitation would be furthered by living in a drug-free home, the parents did not have a reduced expectation of privacy simply because they lived with a probationer.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Brinna on 05 Dec 08 02:15 AM EST
JerryJan, you are making the usual mistake of considering a shift in consciousness to be intoxication.

Posted by jerry jan on 03 Dec 08 09:41 AM EST
It is possible for someone to drink a glass of wine with dinner and enjoy it on a number of levels without any intoxicating effects. I don't think there is a single recreational cannabis user who does so primarily for the taste. No high - no smoke. I'm loathe to side with the alcohol industry at all, but on this point I must concede.

Posted by Thomas on 03 Dec 08 09:07 AM EST
I wouldn't assume she was a juvenile, but do agree with Shattah, about placement and probationary review, and the setting of conditions, and would question the soft drug comparison with the actions or needs of a petty larceny out come in this case...seems if a good probationary review was submitted to the court out lining the contributing factors to delinquency and or deviant behavior in this case, some conditions or placement may have merit to be involved in the probationary petition and status to it being granted in the first place. It’s hard to tell a youth caught smoking they will receive a civil fine, and then send them home to a house full of smokers. We all know the deterrence of a fine isn’t going to work for that group of individuals. The child has been set up for failure with the courts support. This is and will be a child left behind!

Posted by Donald B Parsons on 02 Dec 08 08:40 AM EST
I.m listening to the real voice of reason on this one. Brinna is correct there are more cannabis USERS out there (leading very productive lives harming NO ONE) then there are useless ABUSERS. There are millions of alcohol CONSUMERS who CAN control their use who lead very productive lives just as there are alcohol ABUSERS wasting away. Lets separate the SOFT (ORGANIC) drugs from the HARD drugs and alot more will get accomplished towards prevention and treatment.

Posted by Brinna on 01 Dec 08 10:35 PM EST
Give me a break! Pete, Michelle, Larry, Shattah, why do you frame cannabis use as substance abuse? If I have wine at dinner, am I abusing alcohol? We need, as a society, to get truthful about cannabis v. real drugs, and have science-based discussions on the issue.

Posted by Michelle on 01 Dec 08 02:26 PM EST
However wrong it may be for the parents to be using marijuana they are not the ones who were convicted and are on probation. It's not the state's responsibility nor should it be, for them to have the ability to invade the parents privacy. If the parents are guilty of something then go through the correct channels. If it is just a case of bad parenting unfortunately that cannot be fixed by mandating parents of juvenille offenders to complete random drug tests.

Posted by Larry on 01 Dec 08 02:23 PM EST
I'm in complete agreement with Pete.

Posted by Shattah206 on 01 Dec 08 11:13 AM EST
I'm assuming the daughter is a minor or the judge would never have taken the step of drug testing her parents in the first place. That being the case, it seems the same thing could have been accomplished through proper channels. If information came to light during the girl's case that indicated a substance abuse problem in the home, that is a good time to get child services involved.

Posted by Pete on 01 Dec 08 10:52 AM EST
From a legal point of view, these parents are correct. However, one wonders where these parents prioritize their own daughter's welfare. They may be facing their last chance to teach their daughter right from wrong before she reaches adulthood, yet they seem more concerned with continuing their own recreational drug use and safeguarding their right to privacy. While, legally-speaking, they should not be made to submit to drug tests because of their daughter's problems, isn't it more important for them to set a good example for their daughter before she gets into more trouble? As parents, they could show her that they, too, are willing to give up their illegal behavior and "straighten out" themselves as they (presumably) ask their daughter to do the same.

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