Legal Commentary

Supreme Court and the Strip Search Case

By Jeralyn

If my kid, when he was a kid, was strip searched in the 8th grade at school because they thought he had ibuprophen, I would have been up in arms.

Tuesday, the Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of an Arizona student who was strip searched at school.

Savana Redding was an honors student at a middle school in Safford, Ariz., with a clean discipline record. A friend of Savana’s, who was found in possession of pain relievers, told school authorities that Savana had given her 400-milligram ibuprofen pills, a prescription -level dose of the pain reliever in over-the-counter Advil and Motrin, used to treat headaches and menstrual cramps.

I don't care if it was percodan or dilaudid. You don't strip search kids. [More...]

Based on this information, a male assistant principal had Savana taken out of class and strip-searched by two female employees. Savana was told to pull her bra in a way that exposed her breasts, and to pull out her underwear to expose her pelvic area. Savana, who was too scared to refuse, later called the search “the most humiliating experience” in her life. No drugs were found.

If there was any way to ensure that a normal kid would end up at Port authority with a cigarette hanging from her mouth, a needle in her arm and a tatoo on her as*, a strip search is it.

This should be a 9 to 0 opnion, filled with outrage. But now that Alito and Roberts have joined the team, all bets are off. [More..]

From the LA Times:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear her case. Its decision, the first to address the issue of strip-searches in schools, will set legal limits, if any, on the authority of school officials to search for drugs or weapons on campus.

If limits on searches are imposed, the school district warns, its ability to keep all drugs out of its schools would be reduced.

Maybe then they can try a program that works...and it's not one that fills kids with fear of arrest and humiliation.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 20, 2009 (boomark / email).