when people in the government start wearing ski masks to protect their identity it is almost certain that the people in the government are criminals. Original Article Handcuffing woman in raid ruled OK Associated Press Mar. 23, 2005 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police did not violate a woman's constitutional rights by handcuffing her and inquiring about her immigration status while searching her family's home. Justices unanimously reversed a lower-court ruling ordering two Simi Valley, Calif., officers to pay $60,000 to Iris Mena for their actions in a 1998 search. Mena awoke at dawn in her bed to find an officer in a ski mask pointing a submachine gun at her head. SWAT team members led the woman through rain to a cold garage, where she was kept in handcuffs and questioned for up to three hours while the home was searched under a valid warrant. A jury determined that her right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures was violated, but the Supreme Court on Tuesday disagreed. "This was no ordinary search. The governmental interests in not only detaining, but using handcuffs, are at their maximum when, as here, a warrant authorizes a search for weapons and a wanted gang member resides on the premises," Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote for the majority. The opinion said police also could question Mena's citizenship status and search her purse for immigration documents during the detention, ruling that it was not an unreasonable extension of an otherwise legitimate search.