''National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab'', 489 U.S. 656 (1989), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the Fourth Amendment and its implication on drug testing programs. The majority of the Court upheld the drug testing program in the United States Customs Service.

Background

In 1986, the U.S. Customs Service imposed a drug testing program for "

employees Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

seeking transfer or promotion to positions having direct involvement in drug interdiction," required to carry

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

, or have access to classified information. The

National Treasury Employees Union The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) is an independent labor union representing 150,000 employees of 31 departments and agencies of the United States government. The union specializes in representation of non-supervisory federal employees ...

sued and alleged that the program was violative of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure. The

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

ruled in favor of the government. The union then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals ruling with regard to positions involving drug interdiction and firearms. The ruling for classified information was held over, as the Supreme Court determined that the U.S. Customs Service too broadly included employee groups who would not generally have access to high levels of classified information.

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals ruling with regard to positions involving drug interdiction and firearms. The ruling for classified information was held over, as the Supreme Court determined that the U.S. Customs Service too broadly included employee groups who would not generally have access to high levels of classified information. The majority decision authored by Justice Kennedy upheld the constitutionality of the drug testing program, reasoning that Customs employees had a "diminished expectation of privacy." Justice Marshall wrote a dissent in which he was joined by Justice Brennan; Justice Scalia wrote a dissent in which

Justice Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-olde ...

joined.

External links

*
National Drug Testing Laws & Guidelines
{{US4thAmendment, warrantexceptions, state=expanded 1989 in United States case law United States controlled substances case law United States Fourth Amendment case law United States public employment trade union case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court Drug testing

Background

Opinion of the Court

See also

External links