Supreme Court insists that strip searches are broadly legal ...

Unfortunate news has emerged from the chambers of the nation's highest court, and it could spell trouble for nearly any Maryland resident. The United States Supreme Court recently held that law enforcement may strip-search any individual who has been arrested, regardless of what kind of offense he or she has been charged with. Law enforcement need not suspect that individuals are carrying contraband before engaging in strip searches.

This ruling has significant implications for anyone who may be forced to mount a criminal defense for any reason, from felony charges to protest-related arrests, violations of leash laws, failure to pay child support and driving without a license.

The case that the Supreme Court ruled on involved a man who, after being detained wrongly over a fine which had already been paid, was strip-searched twice. The Court held that regardless of the circumstances, if an individual is arrested and will be detained for any length of time, law enforcement has the right to initiate a strip search, in the interest of public health and locating any smuggled drugs or weapons.

This ruling contradicts the law in at least 20 percent of states, as well as various international human rights treaties. Even most federal appeals courts forbid strip searches unless law enforcement has a reasonably based suspicion that contraband is present on an individual.

Justice Breyer, who wrote for the four justices who dissented in the case, insisted that strip searches should only be used when the situation uniquely warrants one and are otherwise, "a serious affront to human dignity and to individual privacy."

Source: New York Times, "Supreme Court Ruling Allows Strip Searches for Any Arrest," Adam Liptak, Apr. 2, 2012

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