Passing the bottle

     Although the U.S. Supreme Court works in mysterious ways, the questions asked by the justices at a Jan. 4 hearing would indicate considerable skepticism from the bench about a new requirement that all Georgia political candidates submit to drug tests.
      Challenging the law were Georgia Libertarian candidates Walker Chandler, Sharon Harris and James Walker, who ran for lieutenant governor, state agriculture commissioner and a seat in the Georgia state Legislature (respectively). All passed their drug tests last year, after submitting to them under protest. None won election.
      Georgia Assistant Attorney General Patricia Guilday argued the mandatory testing program is desirable not only to guarantee habitual drug users never end up on the ballot, but also to send a "zero tolerance" message. But Ms. Guilday conceded, under questioning by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, that there is no evidence of a drug problem among elected officials there.
      Justice David Souter got Ms. Guilford to agree that requiring all candidates to submit to drug searches of their homes would be unconstitutional. He then asked her to explain "why opening a house is more intrusive than opening a body."
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