NATION : Justice Dept. Drug Tests Voided
A federal judge today declared unconstitutional mandatory drug testing for attorneys applying for jobs in the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell came in the case of Carl Willner, who filed suit after the Justice Department tentatively accepted him for employment and then asked him to submit to a urine test.
Gesell said testing Willner would infringe on the right of any citizen not to be searched without a reasonable basis of suspicion. The antitrust division requirement “offends the Fourth Amendment,” Gesell said.
The case is the first major federal decision on applicant drug testing involving government agencies.
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