By Lynn Hatter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-991042.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Governor Rick Scott says his office is evaluating whether to appeal a federal court's decision on the state's welfare drug testing law. Lynn Hatter reports a judge has put a temporary stop to drug testing people who apply for Temporary Cash and Food Assistance.
In a statement issued through a spokeswoman, Governor Scott says Drug testing welfare recipients is just a common-sense way to ensure that welfare dollars are used to help children and get parents back to work. But a federal judge in Orlando disagreed.
Siding with the plaintiff's in the case, U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven wrote "it is well-established that a drug test is considered a search under the Fourth Amendment."
The case was brought by a former Marine who refused to take the drug test as a condition of receiving Temporary Cash and Food Assistance. He's being represented by the Florida ACLU, which claimed the drug testing law violates his civil rights.