Posted on: Wednesday, August 4, 2004
EDITORIAL
Federal drug financing shouldn't trump law
It was reassuring to hear from a top congressional official with oversight over drug policy that Hawai'i won't lose federal drug enforcement money because its laws are out of step with Washington.
But reading between the lines, that appears to be almost precisely what Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind. was suggesting at a Big Island hearing on state drug policy.
While he wasn't threatening any cut in federal drug money, Souder said, he made it clear that federal officials will be watching closely to see how money is being spent and whether local law enforcement officials are getting the tools they need.
"Other states carry their fair share, and Hawai'i needs to, too," Souder said.
Apparently a key point of contention are two drug-fighting laws that have been thrown out by the Hawai'i Supreme Court. One allows so-called "walk and talk" and "knock and talk" activities by police that allow them to confront persons suspected of carrying, using or making drugs. These are, in effect, preliminary warrantless searches.
The other would have eased procedures to obtain a wiretap, which today require what is in effect a contested hearing before a judge.
This, say law enforcement officials, makes obtaining a wiretap virtually impossible.
The Legislature this year rejected proposals to reverse the court rulings. Souder's comments suggest the issue should be revisited or federal funds could be endangered.
That sounds counterproductive to us. There is plenty of good work to be done with the federal anti-drug money we receive, with or without wiretap and "walk and talk" authority.
And Hawa'i Rep. Ed Case, who participated in the hearings, made an additional valuable point. If federal law allows some kinds of law enforcement that are not permitted under the state Constitution, then the answer might be to beef up federal law enforcement presence in the Islands.
That would accomplish much of what Souder seeks without using the hammer of federal funding to reverse what our Supreme Court has ruled under the Hawai'i Constitution.
