National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab

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.

National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 2, 1988 Decided March 21, 1989
Full case name	National Treasury Employees Union et al. v. Von Raab, Commissioner, United States Customs Service
Citations	489 U.S. 656 (more) 109 S. Ct. 1384; 103 L. Ed. 2d 685
Case history
Prior	816 F.2d 170 (5th Cir. 1987)
Holding
The United States Customs Service's drug testing imposed on its employees does not violate the Fourth Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Case opinions
Majority	Kennedy, joined by Rehnquist, White, Blackmun, O'Connor
Dissent	Marshall, joined by Brennan
Dissent	Scalia, joined by Stevens
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. IV

Background

In 1986, the U.S. Customs Service imposed a drug testing program for "employees seeking transfer or promotion to positions having direct involvement in drug interdiction," required to carry firearms, or have access to classified information. The National Treasury Employees Union 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 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 joined.

See also

• Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton (1997) and Board of Education v. Earls (2002), later cases dealing with and upholding drug testing in schools rather than customs service.
• Ferguson v. City of Charleston, a 2001 case striking down drug test imposed on pregnant women in hospitals.
• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 489
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
• List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court

External links

• Text of National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656 (1989) is available from: Findlaw Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)
• National Drug Testing Laws & Guidelines Archived March 6, 2021, at the Wayback Machine