Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) plans to take his fight to randomly drug test state employees to the Supreme Court.
According to the AP, Scott was told by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungara on Thursday that he has "probably about zero" chance of winning a Supreme Court case on the issue.
In a ruling last year, Ungaro tossed out an executive order issued by Scott in March 2011 ordering drug testing for all state employees. Ungaro said random drug tests of the state's 85,000 state workers violated the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches.
According to Reuters, Scott later suspended the order, which was challenged in court by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The AP reports:
The case affecting some 85,000 state employees as well as many job applicants is back before Ungaro because the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded her April 2012 ruling in was too broad. The appeals court said in May of this year that some workers can legitimately be tested — such as those in law enforcement and sensitive safety jobs — and Ungaro planned to appoint a special master to come up with a proposed list of those positions.
Ungaro set another hearing for Oct. 11, saying she has "no desire to see the citizens of the state of Florida exposed to any more expense."
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