Supreme Court says strip search in Arizona middle school was unconstitutional

June 29, 2009
Ruling says forcing 13-year-old girl to disrobe could not be justified

From The New York Times: A strip search of a 13-year-old girl by officials at her middle school was unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in an 8-to-1 decision. The student, Savana Redding, had been suspected of bringing prescription-strength ibuprofen to the school, in Safford, Ariz. Justice David H. Souter, writing for the majority, said a search of Redding’s backpack and outer garments did not offend the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches. But the pills in question did not justify an “embarrassing, frightening and humiliating search.”

Sponsored Recommendations