Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

CA9: SF jail strip search policy constitutional because of jail showing of seizure of contraband and weapons in jail

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The San Francisco jail’s policy of strip searching incoming inmates to control weapons and contraband coming into the jail is constitutional under Bell v. Wolfish. Bull v. City & County of San Francisco, 05-17080 (9th Cir. February 9, 2010) (en banc) (6-5), panel opinion Bull v. City & County of San Francisco, 539 F.3d 1193 (9th Cir. 2008): “A detention facility is a unique place fraught with serious security dangers. Smuggling of money, drugs, weapons, and other contraband is all too common an occurrence.” Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 559 (1979). Indeed, “attempts to introduce drugs and other contraband into [prison] premises ... is one of the most perplexing problems of prisons.” Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 10, 2010 (boomark / email).