Supreme Court Rules Strip Search of Girl Was Illegal

The Los Angeles Times reports that Supreme Court ruled that Arizona school officials went too far when they conducted a strip search of 13-year-old girl, Savana Redding, on the suspicion she might be hiding ibuprofen in her underwear. The high court ruled that without the threat of a clear danger to other students, the strip search of the girl violated the Constitution's protections against unreasonable search or seizure.

In 2003, Redding was stip searched by school officials after the vice principal was told by another girl that Redding had brought extra-strength ibuprofen pills to school and planned to give them to other students. Based upon nothing more, Redding was questioned, had her belonging searched and was eventually sent to the nurse's office who conducted the strip search. No pills were ever found.

Needless to say, Redding and her mother sued.

Justice David Souter, writing on behalf of majority in the 8-1 ruling, stated that school officials overreacted by conducting a strip search of the girl based upon vague accusations that Redding was violating school policy by possessing the ibuprofen, the equivalent to two Advils.

Justice Souter went on to add that what was missing prior to conducting the strip search of the girl "was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear. We think that combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable."

The Supreme Court's ruling today set new legal limits on how far school officials may go to inspect for drugs on campus. The Justices called a strip search of a girl at school "categorically distinct" from other inspections for drugs and so degrading that it usually cannot be justified. The Court added that in order to be justified in requiring a student to remove her clothes requires a "quantum leap" of suspicion and wrongdoing.

Author's name: Gabriel Dorman
Author's e-mail: gabedorman@gmail.com
Author's blog URL: www.criminaldefenseduilawyer.com/blog/