Has the Supreme Court gone bizarro?

[knapplc]

This Supreme Court is out of its mind. First we get Citizen's United, which was one of the worst decision by the SCOTUS in decades. Now we have this:

Supreme Court Ruling Allows Strip-Searches for Any Offense

 

 

 

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.

 

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, joined by the court’s conservative wing, wrote that courts are in no position to second-guess the judgments of correctional officials who must consider not only the possibility of smuggled weapons and drugs, but also public health and information about gang affiliations.

 

“Every detainee who will be admitted to the general population may be required to undergo a close visual inspection while undressed,” Justice Kennedy wrote, adding that about 13 million people are admitted each year to the nation’s jails.

 

The procedures endorsed by the majority are forbidden by statute in at least 10 states and are at odds with the policies of federal authorities. According to a supporting brief filed by the American Bar Association, international human rights treaties also ban the procedures.

 

The Supremes have lost their minds. You cannot allow strips for EVERY SINGLE PERSON ARRESTED. This is granting the police way too much power.

 

I am concerned this Court is going to create a huge mess before they're through - a mess the likes of which we haven't seen for years, which will take a generation to clean up.

[carlfense]

I can see a strong argument for it if they are going to be placed into jails. That doesn't mean that I'm comfortable with it . . . but I can see the argument.

 

That said . . . the breakdown of justices is interesting. The conservative justices ruled in favor of deferring to governmental authority.

[knapplc]

I see the argument for it. I vehemently disagree with that argument, but I can see it.

[JJ Husker]

I can sort of see it for people going into general population jail but not simply for being arrested with no reasonable suspicion of concealed contraband. IMO this is a ridiculous decision.

 

carlfense, I may have misread the link but it appeared to me the conservative justices sided with the majority and those I consider liberal dissented. What am I missing? This doesn't seem right.

[Excel]

"Before admitting them to Jails"...absolutely warranted. God only knows what they might bring into what it is meant to be a controlled environment.

[carlfense]

I can sort of see it for people going into general population jail but not simply for being arrested with no reasonable suspicion of concealed contraband. IMO this is a ridiculous decision.

 

carlfense, I may have misread the link but it appeared to me the conservative justices sided with the majority and those I consider liberal dissented. What am I missing? This doesn't seem right.

You're reading it correctly.

[carlfense]

I see the argument for it. I vehemently disagree with that argument, but I can see it.

Would you explain?

 

I don't see a happy answer either way in this case.

[knapplc]

I see the argument for it. I vehemently disagree with that argument, but I can see it.

Would you explain?

 

I don't see a happy answer either way in this case.

 

This ruling gives a blanket permission for every person arrested to be strip-searched. Body-cavity searched. This isn't just talking about gen-pop prisoners in the State Pen, we're talking about anyone even suspected of a crime being strip-searched.

 

The potential for abuse is staggering. People arrested on a bench warrant for failure-to-appear can be strip-searched. We do not need to be checking the body cavities of every single person arrested and held for even a short time. It's completely unnecessary for many, many people.

 

We cannot simply say we have probable cause to suspect that anyone being arrested may have concealed contraband in a BC. It's not realistic, and the police should not have that power.

 

Sure, we can say that, in an abundance of caution, we want to make sure that nobody is carrying anything at all illegal into the county lockup. But the number of civil rights violations that are going to come from this do not justify that abundance of caution.

 

For goodness' sake - our homes are now more sacrosanct than our bodies. That's bizarre.

[HSKR]

I guess George Zimmerman won't have to worry about getting strip searched then.

[Excel]

I, like many Americans, begin each day by stashing a buck knife and three grams of heroin in my bung hole, now just imagine what would happen if I was picked up on one of any of my outstanding warrants...I could wreak havoc

[JJ Husker]

This is probably a little bit off subject but I have never been desperate enough, nor do I ever expect to be, that I would use my "body cavity" to conceal anything. Another reason that part of the anatomy should simply be considered a one-way affair. Hell I had trouble the one time I was supposed to insert a suppository no bigger than a vitamin. That step got skipped.

[johnnyrodgers20]

I see the argument for it. I vehemently disagree with that argument, but I can see it.

Would you explain?

 

I don't see a happy answer either way in this case.

 

This ruling gives a blanket permission for every person arrested to be strip-searched. Body-cavity searched. This isn't just talking about gen-pop prisoners in the State Pen, we're talking about anyone even suspected of a crime being strip-searched.

 

The potential for abuse is staggering. People arrested on a bench warrant for failure-to-appear can be strip-searched. We do not need to be checking the body cavities of every single person arrested and held for even a short time. It's completely unnecessary for many, many people.

 

We cannot simply say we have probable cause to suspect that anyone being arrested may have concealed contraband in a BC. It's not realistic, and the police should not have that power.

 

Sure, we can say that, in an abundance of caution, we want to make sure that nobody is carrying anything at all illegal into the county lockup. But the number of civil rights violations that are going to come from this do not justify that abundance of caution.

 

For goodness' sake - our homes are now more sacrosanct than our bodies. That's bizarre.

 

 

+1

[johnnyrodgers20]

This is probably a little bit off subject but I have never been desperate enough, nor do I ever expect to be, that I would use my "body cavity" to conceal anything. Another reason that part of the anatomy should simply be considered a one-way affair. Hell I had trouble the one time I was supposed to insert a suppository no bigger than a vitamin. That step got skipped.

 

My rule is exit only!!!!!!

[carlfense]

This isn't just talking about gen-pop prisoners in the State Pen, we're talking about anyone even suspected of a crime being strip-searched.

The probable cause standard remains the same.

 

The opinion basically states that this applies to prisoners who will be released into the general jail population. It surprises me that this was not already settled law.

[knapplc]

This isn't just talking about gen-pop prisoners in the State Pen, we're talking about anyone even suspected of a crime being strip-searched.

The probable cause standard remains the same.

 

The opinion basically states that this applies to prisoners who will be released into the general jail population. It surprises me that this was not already settled law.

 

Let's be clear what we're talking about here. There's the county lockup (jail) and the state pen (prison). The term "general population" most often refers to the prison population, not those incarcerated overnight for a minor offense. Nor does this law differentiate those incarcerated for a few months on minor issues. We're talking any person arrested. Anyone. For any reason.

 

You shoplift a $10 DVD, you're going to get strip-searched.

 

Involved in a fight, even if you didn't start it? Strip-searched.

 

Public intoxication? Strip-searched.

 

 

Even if your arrest were to be thrown out in court, you would have already been strip-searched.