University of Colorado Ex Rel. University of Colorado v. Derdeyn

863 P.2d 929, 17 Brief Times Rptr. 1653, 1993 Colo. LEXIS 887, 1993 WL 440024
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedNovember 1, 1993
Docket92SC86
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 863 P.2d 929 (University of Colorado Ex Rel. University of Colorado v. Derdeyn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
University of Colorado Ex Rel. University of Colorado v. Derdeyn, 863 P.2d 929, 17 Brief Times Rptr. 1653, 1993 Colo. LEXIS 887, 1993 WL 440024 (Colo. 1993).

Opinions

Justice LOHR

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

We granted certiorari in order to determine whether random, suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing of intercollegiate student athletes by the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU), violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution1 or Article II, Section 7, of the Colorado Constitution. Following a bench trial conducted in August of 1989 in which a class of current and prospective CU athletes challenged the constitutionality of CU’s drug-testing program, the Boulder County District Court permanently enjoined CU from continuing its program. The trial court found that CU had not obtained voluntary consent from its athletes for such testing, and it declared such testing unconstitutional under both the federal and state constitutions. The Colorado Court of Appeals generally affirmed. See Derdeyn v. University of Colorado, 832 P.2d 1031 (Colo.App.1991). We agree with the court of appeals, see id. at 1034-35, that in the absence of voluntary consents, CU’s random, suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing of student athletes violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 7, of the Colorado Constitution.2 We further agree, see id. at 1035, that the record supports the finding of the trial court that CU failed to show that consents to such testing given by CU’s athletes are voluntary for the purposes of those same constitutional provisions. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.

I

CU began a drug-testing program in the fall of 1984 for its intercollegiate student athletes. CU has since amended its program in various ways, but throughout the existence of the program participation was mandatory in the sense that if an athlete did not sign a form consenting to random urinalysis pursuant to the program, the student was prohibited from participating in intercollegiate athletics at CU.3

CU’s drug-testing program originally required a urine test for certain proscribed drugs4 at each intercollegiate athlete’s annual physical and also required random urine tests thereafter. Counseling was mandated following a first positive result. The penalty for a second positive included a seven-day suspension from participation in intercollegiate athletics, and the penalty for [931]*931a third positive included a minimum one-year suspension. No specific monitoring procedures were prescribed for the collection of the urine samples, and two students testified that during this phase of the program they were not monitored during the act of urination. According to CU’s 1984 Form5 describing the program, all test6 results were sent to the “Team Physician.” The intercollegiate student athletes also were required to give their consent to releasing test results to

the Head Athletic Trainer at [CU]; my parent(s) or legal guardian(s) or spouse; the head coach of any intercollegiate sport in which I am a team member; the Athletic Director of [CU]; and the Drug Counseling Program at the Wardenburg Student Health Center.

The 1984 Form gave no general or specific assurances of confidentiality.

Sometime thereafter,7 CU amended its program for the first time. The penalty for a first positive was changed to include suspension for “the current competitive season,” and the penalty for a second positive was changed to include permanent suspension from “any activity sponsored by the University of Colorado Athletic Department.” Following a first positive, the athlete was also required successfully to complete a substance abuse rehabilitation program as a condition for further participation in intercollegiate athletics. The first amended program also provided that the “collection of the specimen will be observed [sic], and the athlete may be asked to disrobe in order to protect the integrity of the testing procedure.”8 Test results were still sent to the “Team Physician,” but following a first positive, the first amended program stated:

[T]he Team Physician will inform the Head Athletic Trainer. The Head Athletic Trainer will advise the Athletic Director. The Athletic Director will notify the athlete’s Head Coaeh(es). Additionally, the athlete will be required to ... participate in a conference telephone call between the athlete, his/her parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of the positive test results.

CU still gave no general or specific assurances of confidentiality of test results.

CU’s second amended program changed the penalty for a first positive from suspension for “the current competitive season,” to suspension for “a twelve month period.” In all other relevant respects the program remained unaltered.

[932]*932CU’s third amended program, which became effective August 14, 1988, contained numerous changes. First, it added alcohol, “over-the-counter drugs,” and “performance-enhancing substances such as anabolic steroids” to the list of drugs for which students could be tested. Second, the term “athlete” was defined to include “all student participants in recognized intercollegiate sports, including but not limited to student athletes, cheerleaders, student trainers and student managers.” Third, random “rapid eye examination (REE)” testing was substituted for random urinalysis, and a urinalysis was performed only after a “finding of reasonable suspicion that an athlete has used drugs,” and at the athlete’s annual physical examination. Failure to perform adequately on an REE was considered “prima facie reasonable suspicion of drug use [except with regard to steroids],” and the student was required to provide a urine specimen for testing purposes if the student did not perform adequately on the REE. In addition, if a student exhibited “physical or behavioral characteristics indicating drug use including, but not limited to: tardiness, absenteeism, poor heath [sic] habits, emotional swings, unexplained performance changes, and/or excessive aggressiveness,” this was also considered reasonable suspicion of drug use, and the student was required to take a urine test. Fourth, urine samples were to be collected “within the Athletic Department facilities,” and athletes were “directed to provide a urine specimen in a private and enclosed area” while a monitor remained outside. The monitor would then receive “the sample from the athlete and check[] the sample for appropriate color, temperature, specific gravity and other properties to determine that no substitution or tampering has occurred.” Fifth, the athletes were required to give their consent to releasing test results to

the Head Athletic Trainer at [CU]; my parent(s) or legal guardian(s), if I am under the age of 21; the head coach of any intercollegiate sport in which I am a team member; the Athletic Director of [CU]; my work supervisor (if applicable) and the Drug Counseling Program at the Wardenburg Student Health Center.

Finally, although CU still gave no general assurances of confidentiality, it did specify in its third amended program that communications between an athlete and physicians at Wardenburg Student Health Center would be confidential. In October of 1986, intercollegiate student athletes at CU filed a class action suit9

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University of Colorado Ex Rel. University of Colorado v. Derdeyn
863 P.2d 929 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1993)

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863 P.2d 929, 17 Brief Times Rptr. 1653, 1993 Colo. LEXIS 887, 1993 WL 440024, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/university-of-colorado-ex-rel-university-of-colorado-v-derdeyn-colo-1993.