Posts Tagged ‘ strip search ’

Supremes Say Strip Search of Student Uncalled For

June 30th, 2009. By Evelyn Pringle

The constitutional rights of 13-year-old Savana Redding were violated when school officials in Arizona conducted a strip-search based on a suspicion that she might be hiding drugs in her underwear, the Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 2009, in an 8 to 1 decision.

The suspect drugs that led to the search in this case were “prescription-strength ibuprofen and over-the-counter naproxen, common pain relievers equivalent to two Advil, or one Aleve,” the court noted in the opinion.

The search failed to uncover any pills.

“The issue here is whether a 13-year-old student’s Fourth Amendment right was violated when she was subjected to a search of her bra and underpants by school officials acting on reasonable suspicion that she had brought forbidden prescription and over-the-counter drugs to school,” the opinion states.

“Because there were no reasons to suspect the drugs presented a danger or were concealed in her underwear, we hold that the search did violate the Constitution,” the court wrote.

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Tags: Redding, strip search
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