University of Colorado Ex Rel. University of Colorado v. Derdeyn
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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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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 in Boulder County District Court challenging the constitutionality of the drug-testing program as it then existed and seeking declaratory and injunc-tive relief.10 Named as defendants were CU, the board of regents of CU, Judith Albino as president of CU, and William Marolt as athletic director, department of intercollegiate athletics. When CU subsequently amended its program, an issue arose as to which version of CU’s program, if any, could be challenged at trial. CU argued that the case was moot because it “would be futile to discuss the merits of a drug-testing policy the University has no intention of reinstating.” However, by minute order, the trial court found that CU [933]*933and the other defendants have “refused to agree that they will not return to the policy which was initially challenged in this class action. In fact, defendants have indicated that there are circumstances under which they would return to that policy.” The trial court concluded “[t]herefore, ... the legality of [CU’s] prior drug-testing policy is not moot,” and it noted that it had “previously ruled that plaintiffs are to amend the complaint to add allegations concerning the new policy.” The plaintiffs filed their amended complaint on March 16, 1989, the same day that the trial court signed the minute order. In their amended complaint, the plaintiffs sought relief from CU’s random drug-testing programs, past, present, and future. Accordingly, at issue in the ensuing trial was the constitutionality of every version of CU’s drug-testing program.
Following a bench trial conducted in August of 1989, the trial court entered its written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order and judgment. The trial court found that “[o]btaining a monitored urine sample is a substantial invasion of privacy.” It found that the
REE does not function, in any sense, as “reasonable suspicion” of drug use. Because of its disastrous ability to predict drug use, it functions more as an avenue to inject arbitrary judgments into an otherwise random selection of students for testing.
Similarly, it found that “[l]ike the REE, the [other] reasonable suspicion criteria [as set forth by CU] are incapable of indicating drug use to any degree” (emphasis in original). The trial court also found that while
the University labels the program as a “Drug Education Program”, there is little education.... There is no ongoing educational component of the program. Testing is clearly its major focus.
Finally, the trial court found that there
is no evidence that the University instituted its program in response to any actual drug abuse problem among its student athletes. There is no evidence that any person has ever been injured in any way because of the use of drugs by a student athlete while practicing or playing a sport.
The trial court explained that the governmental interests asserted by CU in favor of its program were “compliance with NCAA required tests, a concern for the students’ health and safety, and a need to promote fair competition.” Although the trial court agreed that the goals embodied by these interests were commendable and valid, the trial court ruled that under Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association, 489 U.S. 602, 109 S.Ct. 1402, 103 L.Ed.2d 639 (1989),11 and National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656, 109 S.Ct. 1384, 103 L.Ed.2d 685 (1989),12 [934]*934they were not sufficiently compelling as governmental interests to outweigh an intrusion on the reasonable privacy expectations of students that is “clearly significant.” Therefore, the trial court concluded, CU’s random urinalysis-drug-testing of athletes without individualized suspicion violates the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee that persons shall be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures conducted by the government. The trial court also held that “[n]o intrusion, however slight, can be deemed ‘reasonable’ for purposes of the Fourth Amendment where the intrusion will not and cannot reveal the information sought,” and that therefore, the “rapid eye exam is an unconstitutional intrusion under the ‘reasonableness’ standard of the Fourth Amendment.” Similarly, because it found that the other reasonable suspicion criteria relied upon by CU were incapable of indicating drug use to any degree, the trial court held that “failure makes ‘unreasonable’ [under the Fourth Amendment] any search [e.g., urinalysis] conducted pursuant to those criteria.” 13
The fact that CU’s athletes signed forms consenting to random drug testing did not alter the trial court’s conclusion. Rather, the trial court found that CU failed to demonstrate that the consents given by the athletes were voluntary, and also held that “no consent can be voluntary where the failure to consent results in a denial of the governmental benefit.”
On these bases, the trial court declared that CU’s drug-testing program was unconstitutional. It permanently enjoined CU from “requiring any urine samples from student athletes for the purposes of drug testing, whether those tests occur on a random basis or as a result of the ‘reasonable suspicion’ criteria stated,” and it permanently enjoined CU from “requiring student athletes participation in the Rapid Eye Exam procedure.” In addition, the trial court held that “reasonable suspicion” is not the appropriate standard to warrant urinalysis-drug-testing of athletes by CU, and that such testing is impermissible ab'sent probable cause under either the Fourth Amendment or Article II, Section 7, of the Colorado Constitution.
The Colorado Court of Appeals generally affirmed. See Derdeyn, 832 P.2d 1031. The court of appeals explained that CU did not appeal the trial court’s findings relating to the REE, but only those relating to urinalysis. Id. at 1033. It held in part II of its opinion that CU’s urine testing program was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment and under Article II, Section 7, of the Colorado Constitution, id. at 1035, and it affirmed the trial court’s permanent injunction prohibiting CU from testing its athletes pursuant to its original program or any of its amended programs, [935]*935id. In addition, although the court of appeals did not disturb the trial court’s finding that CU’s stated “reasonable suspicion” criteria were wholly ineffective, or the trial court’s ruling that mandatory urinalysis based upon such criteria is unconstitutional, it held in part IV of its opinion that objective, reasonable, individualized suspicion of drug use could in some circumstances warrant mandatory drug testing of intercollegiate athletes by CU. Id.
We granted CU’s petition for writ of certiorari on the following issues:
In the context of the University’s drug-testing program, is suspicionless drug testing constitutionally reasonable?
Can student athletes give valid consent to the University’s drug-testing program if their consent is a condition of participation in intercollegiate athletics at the University?
We hold that in the absence of voluntary consents, CU’s random, suspi-cionless urinalysis-drug-testing of student athletes violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 7, of the Colorado Constitution. See infra part IIA.15 We further hold that the record supports the trial court’s finding that CU failed to show that its athletes consent voluntarily to its drug-testing program. See infra part IIB. Finally, because we granted certiorari on the issue of whether, in the context of CU’s drug-testing program, suspicionless drug-testing is constitutionally reasonable, and not on the issue of whether reasonable suspicion is ever a sufficient predicate to mandatory urinalysis-drug-testing of athletes by CU, and because the parties have briefed the former but not the latter issue, we express no opinion on the latter issue under either the federal or the state constitution.
II
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals [936]*936from unreasonable searches conducted by the government, Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 665, 109 S.Ct. at 1390, even when the government acts as the administrator of an athletic program in a state school or university. See Schaill ex rel. Kross v. Tippecanoe County Sch. Corp., 864 F.2d 1309 (7th Cir.1989); Brooks v. East Chambers Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist., 730 F.Supp. 759 (S.D.Tex.1989); cf. New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 333-37, 105 S.Ct. 733, 738-40, 83 L.Ed.2d 720 (1985) (holding that the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures conducted by public school officials acting as civil authorities). Furthermore,
[bjecause it is clear that the collection and testing of urine intrudes upon expectations of privacy that society has long recognized as reasonable, ... these intrusions must be deemed searches under the Fourth Amendment.
Skinner, 489 U.S. at 617, 109 S.Ct. at 1413 (footnote omitted). It follows that CU’s urinalysis-drug-testing program must meet the reasonableness requirement of the Fourth Amendment.
A search must usually be supported by a warrant issued upon probable cause. Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 665, 109 S.Ct. at 1390. However, neither a warrant, nor probable cause, nor any measure of individualized suspicion is an indispensable component of reasonableness in every circumstance. Id.; Skinner, 489 U.S. at 618-24, 109 S.Ct. at 1413-14. Rather,
where a Fourth Amendment intrusion serves special governmental needs, beyond the normal need for law enforcement, it is necessary to balance the individual’s privacy expectations against the Government’s interests to determine whether it is impractical to require a warrant or some level of individualized suspicion in the particular context.
Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 665-66, 109 S.Ct. at 1390-91.
It is clear that CU’s drug-testing program is not designed to serve the ordinary needs of law enforcement. We must therefore balance individual student athletes’ privacy expectations against CU’s governmental interests to determine whether CU’s random, warrantless, suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing program is unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. See Skinner, 489 U.S. at 619, 109 S.Ct. at 1414 (“What is reasonable ... ‘depends on all of the circumstances surrounding the search or seizure and the nature of the search or seizure itself.’ ” and “[t]hus, the permissibility of a particular practice ‘is judged by balancing its intrusion on the individual’s Fourth Amendment interests against its promotion of legitimate governmental interests.’ ”) (quoting United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. 531, 537, 105 S.Ct. 3304, 3308, 87 L.Ed.2d 381 (1985), and Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 654, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1396, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979)); T.L.O., 469 U.S. at 337, 105 S.Ct. at 740 (“Although the underlying command of the Fourth Amendment is always that searches and seizures be reasonable, what is reasonable depends on the context within which a search takes place. The determination of the standard of reasonableness governing any specific class of searches requires ‘balancing the need to search against the invasion which the search entails.’ ”) (quoting Camara v. Municipal Court of San Francisco, 387 U.S. 523, 537, 87 S.Ct. 1727, 1735, 18 L.Ed.2d 930 (1967)); International Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local 1245 v. United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm’n (NRC), 966 F.2d 521, 525 (9th Cir.1992); Dimeo v. Griffin, 943 F.2d 679, 681 (7th Cir.1991) (en banc); National Fed’n of Fed. Employees v. Cheney, 884 F.2d 603, 608 (D.C.Cir.1989).
CU advances alternative theories to support its claim that its drug-testing program is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. First, CU argues that its drug-testing program is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment because of the student athletes’ diminished expectations of privacy and the compelling governmental interests served by the program. Second, CU argues that even if its drug-testing program is not otherwise constitutionally reasonable, there is no constitutional violation because its student athletes voluntarily con[937]*937sent to testing. We address these arguments in turn.
A
CU argues that its drug-testing program is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment because of the student athletes’ diminished expectations of privacy and the compelling governmental interests served by the program. We therefore consider in turn (1) the degree to which CU’s drug-testing program intrudes on the reasonable expectations of privacy of student athletes and (2) the magnitude of the governmental interests served by the program. We then balance these factors in order to determine whether CU’s drug-testing program is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Although nonvoluntary, random, suspi-cionless urinalysis-drug-testing by the government always intrudes on an individual’s Fourth Amendment privacy interests, the magnitude of that intrusion can vary from context to context. See Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 671, 109 S.Ct. at 1398 (“The interference with individual privacy that results from the collection of a urine sample for subsequent chemical analysis could be substantial in some circumstances.”). Some of the factors that courts have taken into account in determining the magnitude of such intrusions include the particular place and manner in which the urine sample is collected, Skinner, 489 U.S. at 626-27, 109 S.Ct. at 1418-19; Schaill, 864 F.2d at 1318, whether the individual participates “in an industry that is regulated pervasively to ensure safety, a goal dependent, in substantial part, on the health and fitness of covered employees,” Skinner, 489 U.S. at 627, 109 S.Ct. at 1418, the operational realities of the workplace in which an individual is subjected to drug testing, Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 671, 109 S.Ct. at 1393, whether the individual “for whatever reason [is] subject to frequent medical examinations,” Dimeo, 943 F.2d at 682, and the consequences of refusing to give a urine sample, Schaill, 864 F.2d at 1319-20. CU asserts in its brief that the magnitude of the intrusion of its drug-testing program on its athletes is minimal for a variety of reasons. Specifically, CU asserts that (a) collection of the urine sample in a closed stall with aural monitoring minimizes any intrusion. CU also asserts that student athletes’ expectations of privacy with regard to urinalysis are diminished because (b) they routinely give urine samples as part of annual, general medical examinations; because (c) they submit to extensive regulation of their on- and off-campus behavior, including maintenance of required levels of academic performance, monitoring of course selection, training rules, mandatory practice sessions, diet restrictions, attendance at study halls, curfews, and prohibitions on alcohol and drug use; because (d) they must submit to the NCAA’s random urinalysis-drug-testing program as a condition of participating in NCAA competition; because (e) the consequences of refusing to provide a urine sample are not severe; and because (f) positive test results are confidential and are not used for the purposes of criminal law enforcement.16
We consider each of these assertions in the order stated. As a preliminary matter, however, we note two things. First, in support of these assertions, CU cites various exhibits and testimony contained in the record, all of which were originally presented in full to the trial court for its consideration, and CU had an opportunity during [938]*938closing argument to stress the significance of this evidence for its case. In addition, the trial court heard testimony from- several intercollegiate student athletes about what it is like to be a student athlete, and about what it is like to be tested, without individualized suspicion, for possible drug abuse, in CU’s random urinalysis-drug-testing program. On the basis of all the evidence before it, the trial court found that “[o]btaining a monitored urine sample is a substantial invasion of privacy,” and that CU’s random, suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing of athletes is an “intrusion [that] is clearly significant.” 17
We are unaware of any case that holds that the determination of the magnitude of the intrusion of a drug-testing program on the privacy interests of individuals is a factual issue for the trial court to which appellate courts must defer. On the other hand, such a determination, while not a pure question of fact, is certainly one that is dependent upon many facts that can vary from case to case, and therefore a trial court is especially well positioned to assess the magnitude of an intrusion of a drug-testing program on the reasonable privacy expectations of an individual. We therefore owe respectful attention to the trial court’s findings and conclusions in this case, and its findings and conclusions in no way support CU’s assertion that its drug-testing program does not significantly intrude on the privacy interests of intercollegiate student athletes.
Second, it cannot be said that university students, simply because they are university students, are entitled to less protection than other persons under the Fourth Amendment. See Morale v. Grigel, 422 F.Supp. 988, 997, 998 (D.N.H.1976) (stating that a “college cannot, in this day and age, protect students under the aegis of in loco parentis authority from the rigors of society’s rules and laws, just as it cannot, under the same aegis, deprive students of their constitutional rights,” and holding that a warrantless search of a student’s dormitory room for stolen goods violated the Fourth Amendment even though the purpose of the search was not to obtain criminal evidence); Collier v. Miller, 414 F.Supp. 1357, 1359, 1367, 1367 n. 11 (S.D.Tex.1976) (holding unconstitutional a random search, without probable cause, of a Houston University student’s purse for alcoholic beverages, bottles, or weapons, as she entered a university pavilion for a rock concert, and explaining that “[t]he defendants do not argue in their brief that a different Fourth Amendment standard should apply to schools, nor would this Court find such an argument meritorious.”); Smyth v. Lubbers, 398 F.Supp. 777, 786 (W.D.Mich.1975) (holding that adult college students have the same interest in the privacy of their rooms as any adult has in the privacy of his home); 4 Wayne R. La-Fave, Search and Seizure, ¶110.11(a), at 161-62 (2d ed. 1987) (“Courts have quite properly declined to rely upon the in loco parentis theory in assessing searches conducted on college campuses.”); id. Í110.-11(c), at 178, 180 (“The reported cases dealing with searches upon college and university. campuses reflect the fact that these searches are generally of a different nature than those occurring in high schools,” and “it is abundantly clear that there is no basis consistent with established Fourth Amendment doctrine upon which to uphold these [college] searches when made upon less than a full showing of probable cause.”); cf. T.L.O., 469 U.S. at 336-37, 105 S.Ct. at 739-40 (“In carrying out searches and other disciplinary functions pursuant to such policies, school officials act as representatives of the State, not merely as surrogates for the parents, and they cannot claim the parents’ immunity from the strictures of the Fourth Amendment.”). In[939]*939deed, we note that the representative plaintiff in this case, at the time of trial, was a thirty-one-year-old Army veteran who had served honorably in Europe and Iran,18 and who had been a member of CU’s track and field and cross-country teams in 1986, 1987, and 1988. We therefore find of only marginal relevance holdings by other courts that high school student athletes have a diminished expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment, cf Schaill, 864 F.2d at 1319 (concluding that it is “quite implausible that students competing for positions on [a high-school] interscholastic athletic team would have strong expectations of privacy with respect to urine tests”), and we are persuaded that cases that analyze the Fourth Amendment rights of adults in a workplace environment are much more instructive than cases such as T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 105 S.Ct. 733, In re P.E.A., 754 P.2d 382 (Colo.1988) (search of a public high school student’s car was not unconstitutional), and Acton v. Vernonia Sch. Dist. m, 796 F.Supp. 1354 (D.Or.1992) (rural public high school’s random urinalysis-drug-testing of interscholastic athletes was not unconstitutional), which analyze the Fourth Amendment rights of high school students.19
With these two things in mind, we now consider CU’s arguments that the magnitude of the intrusion of its drug-testing program on the reasonable expectations of privacy of its student athletes was minimal.
(a)
CU argues that collection of the urine sample in a closed stall with aural monitoring minimizes any intrusion. We agree that aural monitoring is less intrusive than visual monitoring, but as we have already noted, the trial court found that CU and the other defendants have
refused to agree that they will not return to the policy which was initially challenged in this class action [i.e., the policy according to which students were visually monitored while providing a urine sample]. In fact, defendants have indicated that there are circumstances under which they would return to that policy.
On certiorari review, it is clear from CU’s brief that CU desires that we assume that only aural monitoring is at issue, but at the same time, CU does not challenge the trial court’s finding that, in effect, CU might return to a visual monitoring system. In addition, the differences in practice between aural and visual monitoring might not always be so great.20
(b)
CU argues that student athletes’ expectations of privacy with regard to urinalysis [940]*940are diminished because they routinely give urine samples as part of an annual, general medical examination, and because they regularly undergo close physical contact with trainers. In this regard, it is true that the United States Supreme Court has recognized that urine tests are less intrusive when the “sample is ... collected in a medical environment, by personnel unrelated to the [employee’s] employer, and is thus not unlike similar procedures encountered often in the context of a regular physical examination.” Skinner, 489 U.S. at 626-27, 109 S.Ct. at 1418-19. Similarly, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has stated that if an individual is required by his job to undergo frequent medical examinations, then that individual will perceive random urinalysis for drug-testing purposes as being less intrusive. Dimeo, 943 F.2d at 682. In this case, however, the trial court heard testimony that samples for random urinalysis-drug-testing were not collected in a medical environment by persons unrelated to the athletic program.21 In addition, many people have an annual physical examination, and the fact that CU’s athletes have an annual physical would not seem to put them into Dimeo’s category of those who must undergo “frequent” medical examinations. Indeed, the trial court heard testimony from one student athlete that “in that I have never been injured, I have been lucky and so the only time I saw the trainers was for a urinalysis.” 22
(c)
CU argues that student athletes’ expectations of privacy with regard to urinalysis are diminished because they submit to extensive regulation of their on- and off-campus behavior, including maintenance of required levels of academic performance, monitoring of course selection, training rules, mandatory practice sessions, diet restrictions, attendance at study halls, curfews, and prohibitions on alcohol and drug use. In support thereof, CU cites testimony from its athletic director and one student athlete.
CU’s athletic director testified in relevant part that the NCAA sets limits on financial aid awards, playing seasons, squad size, and years of eligibility; that the NCAA requires that CU maintain records of each athlete’s academic performance; that the “athletes that eat at training tables are football and men’s basketball and the other athletes eat in the dorms or at their off-campus residences”; that some coaches within their discretion impose curfews; that athletes are required to show up for practice; that athletes are “advised ... on [941]*941what they should take for classes”; that “we have a required study hall in the morning and in the evening”; and that it is “fair to say that the athletes are fairly well regulated.” A student athlete testified in relevant part that “Yes,” “if you are an NCAA athlete, you have to keep a certain grade average,” and “Yes,” “if your grades drop below that average, then you are not eligible for competition.”
Although it is obviously not amenable to precise calculation, it is at least doubtful that the testimony relied upon by CU fully supports CU’s assertion that its student athletes are “extensively regulated in their on and off-campus behavior,” 23 especially with regard to all of the particulars that CU asserts. More importantly, none of the types of regulation relied on by CU entails an intrusion on privacy interests of the nature or extent involved in monitored collection of urine samples.
(d)
CU argues that student athletes’ expectations of privacy with regard to urinalysis are diminished because they must submit to the NCAA’s random urinalysis-drug-testing program as a condition of participating in NCAA competition. In this regard, CU’s athletic director testified that at NCAA championship events, the NCAA conducts random drug testing of athletes as well as testing of the top three finishers and certain starting players, and evidence in the record suggests that NCAA athletes are required to sign consent forms to such testing.
One student athlete testified that he had never been tested at an NCAA event, but that other students were.24 Another student was asked how she felt about the NCAA testing program, and she answered:
Again, it was one of those things like I can’t believe this. I just competed and something that I looked forward to for years and years and years and they are doing the same intrusive thing that C.U. had but, you know, I was glad to be there and I wasn’t going to argue with [it]. The NCAA is a very big [institution] and, you know, I wouldn’t know how to fight that. I wouldn’t be about to take my team’s interests down the tubes because I didn’t want to do the urinalysis.
Despite the fact that students might dislike the NCAA drug-testing program, it seems that they must consent to it in order to be NCAA athletes, and submission to one such program could reduce the intrusiveness of having to submit to another. On the other hand, the trial court heard testimony suggesting that part of what is intrusive about the CU program is that it transformed what might otherwise be friendly, trusting, and caring relations between trainers and athletes into untrusting and confrontational relations.25
(e)
CU argues that student athletes’ expectations of privacy with regard to urinalysis
[942]*942are diminished because the consequences of refusing to provide a urine sample are not severe. We appreciate that in comparison to losing one’s job, as would be the consequence in some government employee/drug-testing cases, e.g., Bostic v. McClendon, 650 F.Supp. 245, 249 (N.D.Ga.1986), not being able to participate in intercollegiate athletics can be regarded as less of a burden. It is, to be sure, only a very small percentage of college athletes whose college “careers” are essential as stepping stones to lucrative contracts — or to any contract — as professional athletes. On the other hand, however, we must also recognize that many intercollegiate athletes who otherwise could not afford a college education receive athletic scholarships that enable them to obtain a college degree and thereby increase their earning potential. Continuation of such scholarships at CU is dependent upon continued participation in the intercollegiate athletic program, which in turn requires consent to the drug-testing program. Furthermore, many intercollegiate athletes pursue professional careers as high school or college coaches, or as administrators in athletic or recreational programs. Thus, for example, one student athlete who graduated from CU by the time of the trial testified that she worked as a track coach at CU. Another testified that she just recently obtained employment coaching girls’ volleyball and basketball at a local high school. While having participated in intercollegiate athletics may not be a formal requirement for such jobs, it is commonplace that applicants with experience at the intercollegiate athletic level will not be disadvantaged in seeking such jobs in comparison with those who lack such experience. Also, we recognize that for many student athletes, participation in intercollegiate athletics is an activity highly valued for its own sake. We therefore believe that the consequences of not being able to participate in intercollegiate athletics must be accorded significant weight.
(f)
Finally, CU argues that student athletes’ expectations of privacy with regard to urinalysis are diminished because positive test results are confidential and are not used for the purposes of criminal law enforcement. It is true that an intrusion by the government outside the context of criminal law enforcement is generally less of an intrusion than one for the purposes of law enforcement. However, as a matter of law, we already take this fact into account when we analyze this case according to the standards of cases like Skinner and Von Raab, rather than according to the standards of typical cases in the area of criminal procedure where there are very few and well defined exceptions to the requirement of a warrant based on probable cause. In other words, were we to attribute less weight to the students’ privacy interests because this is not a criminal case, and also start with the premise that Skinner and Von Raab control, we would be, in effect, giving double weight in our analysis to the fact that we are not dealing with an issue in criminal procedure. Consequently, the fact that this is not a criminal matter adds nothing to what we must balance at this point in our analysis. Furthermore, as we have already indicated, CU does not in its written descriptions of its drug-testing programs give any significant specific or general assurances that test results are confidential.26 There is no evidence at all that CU has ever made available, or ever desired to make available, to the general public any student’s urine test results, but the list of people to whom students must consent to the release of drug-test information is substantial, and we are particularly uncertain as to the significance of the fact that in CU’s third amended program students must consent to the release of information to “my work supervisor (if applicable).”27
[943]*943(g)
Having reviewed the record in light of each of CU’s assertions, it is clear that in some places CU seems to overstate its case, while in others, it has a valid point. On balance, however, we are in full agreement with the conclusion of the trial court that CU’s random, suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing of athletes is an “intrusion [that] is clearly significant.”
CU asserts several interests in maintaining its drug-testing program. These interests are preparing its athletes for drug testing in NCAA championship events, promoting the integrity of its athletic program, preventing drug use by other students who look to athletes as role models, ensuring fair competition, and protecting the health and safety of intercollegiate athletes.28
We begin our consideration of these interests by observing that suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing by the government has been upheld in numerous cases, and in many of those cases, courts have characterized the relevant government interests as “compelling.” E.g., Skinner, 489 U.S. at 628, 109 S.Ct. at 1419 (government has “compelling” interest in testing railroad employees whose “duties [are] fraught with such risks of injury to others that even a momentary lapse of attention can have disastrous consequences”); Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 670, 109 S.Ct. at 1893 (government has “compelling interest in ensuring that front-line [drug] interdiction personnel [in the United States Customs Service] are physically fit, and have unimpeachable integrity and judgment”); id. at 677, 109 S.Ct. at 1396 (government has a compelling interest in protecting truly sensitive information from those who might compromise such information); id. at 679, 109 S.Ct. at 1398 (government has “compelling interests in preventing the promotion of drug users to positions where they might endanger the integrity of our Nation’s borders or the life of the citizenry”); Cheney, 884 F.2d at 610 (government has a “compelling safety interest in ensuring that the approximately 2,800 civilians who fly and service its airplanes and helicopters are not impaired by drugs”).29 However, [944]*944the Supreme Court has not held that only a “compelling” interest will suffice, see Skinner, 489 U.S. at 624, 109 S.Ct. at 1417; cf Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 666, 109 S.Ct. at 1391, and some courts have upheld suspi-cionless urinalysis-drug-testing by the government without finding a compelling interest. E.g., Dimeo, 943 F.2d at 681, 683, 685 (explaining that decreasing levels of intrusiveness require decreasing levels of government justification, declining to characterize as compelling the government’s interest in protecting professional jockeys, starters, and outriders from injuring one another at the race track, characterizing the state’s financial interest as “substantial,” and holding that these two interests outweigh “the very limited privacy inter-esas]” of professional jockeys, starters, and outriders); International Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local 1245 v. Skinner, 913 F.2d 1454, 1462, 1463, 1464 (9th Cir.1990) (finding that the government has a “great” interest in the safety of the natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry, and holding that this “strong” interest is sufficient to justify random urinalysis testing of pipeline workers). Hence, rather than trying to characterize CU’s interests as “compelling,” “strong,” “substantial,” or of some lesser degree of importance, we think it is more instructive simply to compare them with other types of commonly asserted interests that have been held sufficient or insufficient to justify similar intrusions.
Our review of the cases in this area supports the conclusion of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Local 1245 v. Skinner, a case involving a program for random drug testing of employees, absent individualized suspicion, that “the concern for public safety animates the general acceptance of drug testing by courts.” Local 1245 v. Skinner, 913 F.2d at 1462 (citing as support for this proposition Skinner, Von Raab, and cases from the Third, Fourth, Eighth, and District of Columbia Circuits); see also O’Keefe v. Passaic Valley Water Comm’n, 253 N.J.Super. 569, 602 A.2d 760, 763 (A.D.1992) (reading Skinner and Von Raab as holding that “the government may nevertheless require drug testing [absent reasonable suspicion] without running afoul of the proscriptions of the Fourth Amendment in those circumstances in which the government’s special and compelling need to protect the public safety outweighs the employee’s privacy interest”). For example, courts have upheld suspicion-less urinalysis-drug-testing of Army-employed civilian air traffic controllers, pilots, aviation mechanics, aircraft attendants, police, and guards, Cheney, 884 F.2d at 610-11, 612-13; civilian employees of a chemical weapons plant who “have access to areas ... in which experiments are performed with highly lethal chemical warfare agents,” Thomson v. Marsh, 884 F.2d 113, 114 (4th Cir.1989) (per curiam); drivers, mechanics and attendants whose primary duty is the daily transportation of handicapped children on school buses, Jones v. Jenkins, 878 F.2d 1476, 1477 (D.C.Cir.1989) (per curiam), modifying Jones v. McKen[945]*945zie, 833 F.2d 335 (D.C.Cir.1987); bus or commercial truck drivers who operate “enormous” trucks such that “a single mistake in judgment or momentary lapse in attention can have devastating consequences for other travelers,” International Bhd. of Teamsters v. Department of Transp., 932 F.2d 1292, 1304 (9th Cir.1991); “scrub techs” in public hospitals whose duties include bringing patients to the operating room, setting up the sterile field, laying out the proper instruments, and assisting during surgery, Kent v. Claiborne County Hosp., 763 F.Supp. 1362, 1364, 1367 (S.D.Miss.1991); employees holding top secret national security clearances, Harmon v. Thornburgh, 878 F.2d 484, 491-92 (D.C.Cir.1989); county correctional employees with regular access to prisoners or weapons, Taylor v. O’Grady, 888 F.2d 1189, 1199, 1201 (7th Cir.1989); and police officers who carry firearms or participate in drug interdiction efforts, Guiney v. Roache, 873 F.2d 1557, 1558 (1st Cir.1989) (per curiam). At the same time, courts have found insufficient governmental interests to uphold suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing of high-school students who participate in extracurricular activities, Brooks, 730 F.Supp. at 764-66; United States Department of Justice employees who are prosecutors in criminal cases and other employees who have access to grand jury proceedings, Harmon, 878 F.2d at 496; county correctional employees who have no reasonable opportunity to smuggle narcotics to prisoners and no access to firearms, Taylor, 888 F.2d at 1201; civilian laboratory workers at the Army’s forensic Drug Testing Laboratories, Cheney, 884 F.2d at 613, 615; civilian employees in the chain of custody process for biochemical testing at the Army’s forensic Drug Testing Laboratories, id.; and water meter readers who must enter customers’ homes in order to read the meters, O’Keefe, 602 A.2d at 764. In addition, courts have questioned the propriety of suspicionless testing of secretaries, engineering technicians, research biologists, and animal caretakers who work at chemical and nuclear facilities, Cheney, 884 F.2d at 611; police department personnel who do not carry firearms or participate in drug interdiction efforts, Guiney, 873 F.2d at 1558; heads of purchasing departments in hospitals who have “vital and important responsibility essential to the proper supply of medical materials,” Kemp v. Claiborne County Hospital, 763 F.Supp. 1362, 1367 (S.D.Miss.1991); and United States Customs Service employees who are required to handle classified material, Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 677, 109 S.Ct. at 1396.
CU asserts no significant public safety or national security interests.30 This is not by itself dispositive, but absent a showing by CU that its athletes have a greatly diminished expectation of privacy or that its program is not significantly intrusive, the great majority of cases following Skinner and Von Raab clearly militate against the conclusion that CU’s program is a reasonable exercise of state power under the Fourth Amendment. This is so despite the fact that CU’s interest in protecting the health and safety of its intercollegiate athletes, like its interest in protecting all of its students, is unquestionably significant.
We have not been persuaded that CU’s athletes have a greatly diminished expectation of privacy, nor are we persuaded that CU’s program is not significantly intrusive. In addition, we question whether some of the interests asserted by CU are even significant for Fourth Amendment purposes. For example, although the integrity of its athletic program is, like all the other interests asserted by CU, a valid and commendable one, it does not seem to be very significant for Fourth Amendment purposes. See Local 12⅛5 v. NRC, 966 F.2d at 525 n. 9 (In evaluating a program for random drug testing of employees absent individualized suspicion, the court said, “The NRC wisely decided to refrain from pursuing its [946]*946integrity of the workforce rationale on appeal. This rationale has almost uniformly been rejected by the courts as insufficient to justify drug testing of employees.”); O’Grady, 888 F.2d at 1196. Similarly, although the promotion of fair competition builds character in athletes and enhances the entertainment value of athletic events, CU does not explain why the promotion of fair competition is itself an important governmental interest, just as it does not explain why preventing the disqualification of its athletes at sporting events is an important governmental interest.
We therefore hold, based on a balancing of the privacy interests of the student athletes and the governmental interests of CU, that CU’s drug-testing program is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. More specifically, we hold that random, suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing by CU of student athletes is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment if that testing is conducted according to the procedures utilized in any of CU’s drug-testing programs to the date of trial, or if that testing is conducted in a manner substantially similar to any of the procedures utilized in any of CU’s drug-testing programs to the date of trial. Furthermore, because the Colorado Constitution provides at least as much protection from unreasonable searches and seizures as does the Fourth Amendment, CU’s drug-testing program is also unconstitutional under Article II, Section 7, of the Colorado Constitution.
B
CU asserts, however, that even if its drug-testing program is not otherwise constitutionally reasonable, there is no constitutional violation because its student athletes voluntarily consent to testing. We next address that argument.
A warrantless search of an individual is generally reasonable under the Fourth Amendment if the individual has voluntarily consented to it. Sehneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 219, 222, 93 S.Ct. at 2041, 2043, 2044, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). A voluntary consent to a search is “a consent intelligently and freely given, without any duress, coercion or subtle promises or threats calculated to flaw the free and unconstrained nature of the decision.” People v. Carlson, 677 P.2d 310, 318 (Colo.1984) (citing Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041 and People v. Helm, 633 P.2d 1071 (Colo.1981)). Whether consent to a search was voluntary “is a question of fact to be determined from all the circum-stances_” Bustamonte, 412 U.S. at 248-49, 93 S.Ct. at 2058-59; accord United States v. Wright, 932 F.2d 868, 878 (10th Cir.1991) (“Whether a search was voluntary is a question of fact to be determined by the district court from the totality of the circumstances.”); Carlson, 677 P.2d at 318 (“Voluntariness is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of circumstances;”). The government has the burden of proving that consent to a search was voluntarily given, Bustamonte, 412 U.S. at 222, 93 S.Ct. at 2045; People v. Savage, 698 P.2d 1330, 1334 (Colo.1985); Carlson, 677 P.2d 310, 318, and we must defer to the trial court’s findings on the factual issue of voluntariness unless its findings are clearly erroneous, Wright, 932 F.2d at 878; United States v. Corral, 823 F.2d 1389, 1393 (10th Cir.1987), or not supported by the record, People v. Lowe, 616 P.2d 118, 124 (Colo.1980); see Carlson, 677 P.2d at 318.
The trial court heard specific direct testimony from several intercollegiate student athletes who described how and when they were presented with consent forms to sign, and why they signed them. CU had the opportunity to cross-examine these students, and to present direct testimony of its own. The intercollegiate student athlete who testified on behalf of CU was not asked about how or when she was told of the drug-testing program, how or when she was presented with a consent form to sign, or why she signed the form. The Athletic Director for CU and CU’s Head Athletic Trainer testified in general about how and when intercollegiate student athletes are notified about the drug-testing program, although neither testified about how and when the students are actually presented [947]*947with consent forms to sign.31
On the basis of this evidence, the trial court concluded:
The evidence produced during this trial failed to establish that the consents given by the University’s student-athletes are voluntary. It is quite clear that they are “coerced” for constitutional purposes by the fact that there can be no participation in athletics without a signed consent. As in the cases cited/32! the “consent” obtained by the University is not voluntary....
CU argues that this should not be understood as a factual finding by the trial court, but as an erroneous legal conclusion based improperly on the “unconstitutional conditions” doctrine of Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972).33 In light of the language used by the trial court, and the authority that it cites, we are persuaded that the trial court did make a factual finding on the issue of voluntary consent, and that the trial court, as an alternative ground for its decision, also applied the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions.
The trial court reasoned as follows:
It is the duty of the government to “demonstrate that the consent was in fact voluntarily given and not the result of duress or coercion, express or implied. Voluntariness i[s] a question of fact to be determined from all the circumstances.” Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 248-49 [93 S.Ct. 2041, 2058-59, 36 L.Ed.2d 854] (1973).
The fact that participation in intercollegiate sports is not a “right” but a “benefit” does not alter the requirement that any consent be voluntary. The Supreme Court has acknowledged that
Though a person has no “right” to a valuable government benefit and even though the government may deny him the benefit for any number of reasons, there are some reasons upon which the government may not rely. It may not deny a benefit to a person on a basis that infringes his constitutionally protected interest_ For if the government could deny a benefit to a person because of his [exercise of] constitutionally protected [rights], his exercise of those freedoms would in effect be penalized and inhibited. This would allow the government to produce a result which it could not command directly. Such interference with constitutional rights is impermissible. Perry v. Sinderman[n] 408 U.S. 583, [593] 597 [92 S.Ct. 2694, 2697, 33 L.Ed.2d 570] (1972).
It is quite clear that no consent can be voluntary where the failure to consent results in a denial of the governmental benefit. Bostic v. McClendon, 650 F.Supp. 245 (N.D.Ga.1986) (“Consent” by city clerk’s office and police personnel to urinalysis testing was not voluntary where employment would have been terminated if personnel refused to participate); Feliciano v. City of Cleveland, 661 F.Supp. 578 (N.D.Ohio 1987) (Police [948]*948academy cadets did not voluntarily consent to urinalysis for drug testing where cadets believed that producing urine samples was necessary to retain their jobs); American Federation of Gov. Employees v. Weinberger, 651 F.Supp. 726 (S.D.Ga.1986) (Because signed consent to Department of Defense mandatory urinalysis drug testing was given only because jobs would be lost if consent forms were not signed, the “consent” obtained was not voluntary); Schaill by Kross v. Tippecanoe County School Corp., 864 F.2d 1309 (7th Cir.1988) (“Consent” by high school student-athletes to drug testing not effective as consent because participation in urinalysis testing was required for participation in interscholastic athletics).
The evidence produced during this trial failed to establish that the consents given by the University’s student-athletes are voluntary. It is quite clear that they are “coerced” for constitutional purposes by the fact that there can be no participation in athletics without a signed consent. As in the cases cited, the “consent” obtained by the University is not voluntary....
In Bostic and Feliciano, the trial courts applied the “all the circumstances” test articulated in Bustamonte, 412 U.S. at 248-49, 93 S.Ct. at 2058-59, and found as a matter of fact that the respective plaintiffs’ consent to urinalysis-drug-testing was not voluntary. See Feliciano, 661 F.Supp. at 593-95;34 Bostic, 650 F.Supp. at 249. In Weinberger, the trial court relied on Bus-tamonte and found as a matter of fact that certain individuals did not voluntarily consent to urinalysis-drug-testing; in addition, the trial court applied the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions and held that consent to such testing was not a valid condition of government employment and could not have effected a waiver of the plaintiffs’ rights under the Fourth Amendment. Weinberger, 651 F.Supp. at 736. In Schaill, a panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals quoted from Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 92 S.Ct. 2694, and seemed to hold as a matter of law that high school students cannot give valid consent to random drug testing if the giving of such consent is a condition of their being able to participate in interscholastic athletics. Schaill, 864 F.2d at 1312-13.
Hence, in deciding the issue of “voluntary consent,” the trial court cited Busta-monte and Sindermann. Then it relied on two cases (.Bostic and Feliciano) in which trial courts found as a matter of fact under Bustamonte that the certain individuals did not voluntarily consent to urinalysis-drug-testing; one case (Weinberger) in which the trial court found as a matter of fact under Bustamonte that certain individuals did not voluntarily consent to urinalysis-drug-testing, and in addition, that consent to such testing was not a valid condition of government employment and could not have effected a waiver of the plaintiffs’ rights under the Fourth Amendment; and one case (Schaill) that applied the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions and seemed to hold that high school students cannot give valid consent to random drug testing if such consent is a condition of their being able to participate in interscholastic athletics. We therefore are persuaded that the trial court, like the trial court in Weinberger, decided the issue of “voluntary consent” on alternative grounds. Specifically, the trial court found as a matter of fact under Bustamonte that “the evidence produced during this trial failed to establish that the consents given by the University’s student-athletes are voluntary.” In the alternative, the trial court relied on the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions and held that no consent can be voluntary under the Fourth Amendment where the failure to consent results in a denial of a government benefit such as participation in intercollegiate sports at a state university.
[949]*949We therefore must determine whether the record supports the trial court’s finding that CU failed to carry its burden of proving that the consents to search that are at issue in this case are voluntary. In this connection, it must be remembered that this is a class action. Such an action is based on the premise that “the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class.” C.R.C.P. 23(a)(3). The class members consist of both present and prospective student athletes. See supra note 9. Therefore, although it may initially appear anomalous that the consent issue could be decided as to future student athletes or on other than an individualized basis, the case was tried on the premise that the procedures for obtaining consents are standard components of the drug-testing program and are uniform. That is not to say that there are not variations in procedures dependent upon the times the students approach or are approached by CU, but rather that in each given situation a potential student athlete is advised of the drug program and solicited to consent in essentially standard ways. Thus, the procedures routinely followed in implementation of the drug-testing program, as applied to student athletes typified by those who testified at trial, are what are truly at issue in determining the voluntariness of consent. Consistent with this analysis, in its opening brief in this court, in which CU recognizes that “whether the University’s program provides for voluntary, knowing, and intelligent consent” is a question to be resolved, see supra note 33, CU makes no argument that individualized determinations are required or that consent cannot be determined with respect to future students. Our review of the trial court’s ruling on voluntariness of consent to search must be conducted with the foregoing framework in mind.
It is clear from the record that a student will be denied the opportunity to participate in CU’s intercollegiate athletic program in absence of execution of a signed consent. It is equally clear that no athletic scholarship will be available to a student who does not consent to drug testing. The pressure on a prospective student athlete to sign a consent to random, suspicionless drug testing under such circumstances is obvious.
The record suggests that consents are signed following team meetings at some time around the beginning of the academic year. Prospective student athletes recruited by CU are advised of the drug-testing program in a general way early in their contacts with CU and with specificity prior to being asked to sign consents. The record does not reflect whether the prospective student athletes are given information at a time when they have a meaningful opportunity to apply for admission to another educational institution or for acceptance into an athletic program of such an alternative institution.35 There is nothing in the record to suggest that prospective student athletes are advised that CU may elect to revert to its former procedures of visually monitoring the collection of urine samples.
It must be remembered that the consent in question is the consent to an otherwise unconstitutional search, and that to be voluntary such a consent must be “freely given, without any duress, coercion or subtle promises or threats calculated to flaw the free and unconstrained nature of the decision.” People v. Carlson, 677 P.2d at 318 (citing Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, and People v. Helm, 633 P.2d 1071). We conclude that the record supports the trial court’s finding that CU failed to bear its burden to prove that consents obtained pursuant to its random, suspicionless urinalysis-drug-testing program for the certified class of intercollegiate student athletes are voluntarily given. We accordingly hold that for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment and Article II, Section 7, of the Colorado Constitution, CU’s intercollegiate stu[950]*950dent athletes do not voluntarily consent to being searched pursuant to the drug-testing program.36
Ill
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.37
Related
Cite This Page — Counsel Stack
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.