December 1, 1998
Another Privacy Right Lost to the 'War on Drugs'
WASHINGTON-- The Supreme Court ruled today that invited guests in aprivate home who do not stay overnight may not object to an unconstitutional search of the home because, in the court's view, theyhave no reasonable expectation of privacy. "The Court's decision runs contrary to the everyday assumptions that govern the lives of most Americans,"said Steven R. Shapiro, Legal Director of the ACLU. It also means, as the dissent pointed out, that the privacy rights of homeowners are diminished as well. In the words of Justice Ginsburg,homeowners must now operate on the assumption that "their invitations toothers increase the risk of unwarranted governmental peering and pryinginto their dwelling places." "This is another example," Shapiro said, "of how our privacy rights arebeing sacrificed as part of the so-called war on drugs."
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