Ban on drug tests for welfare recipients upheld
In a decision released Wednesday, an evenly divided U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that invalidated the Michigan law requiring drug testing of welfare recipients.
The effect of the ruling is to continue the status quo, as the law was never fully implemented after a 1999 injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts.
Roberts was reversed by a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit last fall. But the full court divided 6-6 on an appeal of that decision, thereby reinstating the injunction.
Another appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is possible. But state officials said Wednesday no decision on whether to pursue the case has been made.
Michigan lawmakers and former Gov. John Engler enacted the controversial statute in 1998 in an effort to end what they called the cycle of dependency for drug users. It would have required welfare applicants to undergo drug testing and face the possible loss of benefits if they tested positive and refused to enter treatment.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the policy as an unreasonable intrusion on the privacy and dignity of people receiving government help.
Graham Boyd, the ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project director, said Wednesday that the ruling should "send a message to the rest of the nation that drug testing programs like these are neither an appropriate or effective use of a state's limited resources."
A spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm said no decision on an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court has been made.
Granholm was a critic of the policy early in her campaign for governor, but said after last fall's court decision that she planned to implement it if elected. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Boyd said Granholm supports drug testing for welfare recipients when there is reasonable suspicion they have been using drugs.
The Michigan law allows for blanket testing. According to the ACLU, when the state implemented the policy on a pilot basis, 21 of 268 people tested positive, all but three for marijuana.
That level of drug use is "consistent with drug use in the general population," the ACLU said in a statement.
Attorney General Mike Cox also has the authority to seek an appeal, said spokesman Sage Eastman. But the case is under review, he said.
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In a decision released Wednesday, an evenly divided U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that invalidated the Michigan law requiring drug testing of welfare recipients.
The effect of the ruling is to continue the status quo, as the law was never fully implemented after a 1999 injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts.
Roberts was reversed by a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit last fall. But the full court divided 6-6 on an appeal of that decision, thereby reinstating the injunction.
Another appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is possible. But state officials said Wednesday no decision on whether to pursue the case has been made.
Michigan lawmakers and former Gov. John Engler enacted the controversial statute in 1998 in an effort to end what they called the cycle of dependency for drug users. It would have required welfare applicants to undergo drug testing and face the possible loss of benefits if they tested positive and refused to enter treatment.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the policy as an unreasonable intrusion on the privacy and dignity of people receiving government help.
Graham Boyd, the ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project director, said Wednesday that the ruling should "send a message to the rest of the nation that drug testing programs like these are neither an appropriate or effective use of a state's limited resources."
A spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm said no decision on an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court has been made.
Granholm was a critic of the policy early in her campaign for governor, but said after last fall's court decision that she planned to implement it if elected. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Boyd said Granholm supports drug testing for welfare recipients when there is reasonable suspicion they have been using drugs.
The Michigan law allows for blanket testing. According to the ACLU, when the state implemented the policy on a pilot basis, 21 of 268 people tested positive, all but three for marijuana.
That level of drug use is "consistent with drug use in the general population," the ACLU said in a statement.
Attorney General Mike Cox also has the authority to seek an appeal, said spokesman Sage Eastman. But the case is under review, he said.
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