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W.D.Pa.: Strip search incident

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant's strip search incident was based on reasonable suspicion that drugs would be found hidden in defendant’s buttocks because of his ten year drug history and being known to carry a gun. The search occurred in an interrogation room and not the jail. United States v. Derrick, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13551 (W.D. Pa. February 17, 2010): Strip searches are considered invasive, but are not per se unconstitutional. Police do not have indiscriminate authority to conduct strip and visual body cavity searches. See, Fuller v. M.G. Jewelry, 950 F.2d 1437, 1446 (9th Cir. 1991). The test to determine if a strip search violates the Fourth Amendment is whether the strip search is reasonable under the circumstances. Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 558-59 (1979)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 19, 2010 (boomark / email).