Personal Injury Law

Supreme Court Hears Case of 13 Year Old Girl Strip Searched at School

By Catherine D. Bertram, Esquire and Salvatore J. Zambri, Esquire

The United States Supreme Court will hear the case of a 13 year old girl from Arizona who was strip searched at school. The Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether school officials violated this child's Fourth Amendment rights.  The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches.

According to the Associated Press article (4/20, Rotstein), "Savana Redding was 13 years old when she was told to remove her clothes for a strip search by school officials looking for the equivalent of two Advils. And while the humiliation hasn't diminished in the past five and a half years, she hopes the U.S. Supreme Court can do something about the emotional scar." Now, "the nation's highest court will hear the 19-year-old's case Tuesday against Safford Middle School officials who searched her for prescription-strength ibuprofen pills that a fellow student accused her of having."

"Strip searches of children produce trauma similar in kind and degree to sexual abuse," said Adam Wolf, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing Redding. "For Savana, she thinks about this event every day, has trust issues with her peers and adults ... The search has radically altered her life."

If your child, or family member, has experienced a similar traumatic incident in violation of the victim's constitutinal rights,  you may have recourse under our civil justice system.  Please contact Catherine Bertram and Salvatore Zambri,  attorneys from Regan Zambri and Long, who focus on the rights of consumers,  for a free consultation about your rights.

Full post as published by DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).