A federal appeals court panel Friday rejected a group of inmates’ constitutional challenge of random drug tests in Nebraska prisons.

The three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the inmates failed to prove the department’s sample collection methods have resulted in incorrect results and, thus, the loss of good-time credit.

Friday’s order affirmed a federal trial judge’s ruling upholding the testing.

The inmates sued the state in 2001, arguing, among other things, that inmates, rather than urine sample collectors, should sign and seal the specimen containers. They claimed the suggested procedure would reduce the risk of erroneously labeling the containers.

At trial, Dr. John Treuting, a forensic toxicologist from Los Angeles, testified the state’s testing procedures did not meet accepted standards.

But Dr. David Black, testifying for the state, said the test used by the department to detect drugs was 95 percent accurate.

U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf denied the inmates’ claims at the end of the trial.

In affirming Kopf, the appeals court said the changes recommended by the inmates “would contribute only marginally” to the tests’ accuracy.

“While the collection procedures may not be maximally drawn to eliminate mislabeled samples, they conform to practices used in private-sector workplace testing and are adequate to ensure reasonably reliable results,” the court wrote.

Adam Sipple, the inmates’ attorney, said he was considering asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Jon Bruning said he was unavailable for comment Friday.

The lawsuit was filed by Mosheh Malik Louis, also known as Harry James Starks, on behalf of a number of current and former inmates.

In the testing, inmates urinate in a cup in the presence of a collector. The collector labels the cup with the inmate’s name and prison number.

Trained technicians then test the specimen. If the test is positive for drugs, a second test is done. If that one confirms the first test, the results are sent to the prison disciplinary board.

Inmates in violation of drug rules can loose up to 90 days of good time.

Reach Butch Mabin at 473-7234 or bmabin@journalstar.com.