Oakland Strip-Search Law Ruled Unconstitutional

Oakland Strip-Search Law Ruled Unconstitutional

www.sfgate.com

Under a department policy implemented in 2004, officers are allowed to search people if they have a "reasonable suspicion" to believe the people are hiding something illegal, such as drugs, or would destroy or ingest it unless it was immediately recovered.

But attorneys for a group of men claiming they were wrongfully searched said the policy is unconstitutional because the standard is lower than that of probable cause, the standard police must meet before arresting someone.

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel agreed.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Jeez...Glad that at least one Judge feels this way. Strip searches out in the field and not in a jail? Talk about public humiliation. The below paragraph made me shudder a little more---BODY CAVITY SEARCHES carried out in the same light? Ouch.

The judge also found that an earlier version of the policy, enacted in 1998, was unconstitutional because it didn't require that more invasive body-cavity searches be conducted by medical personnel.

www.sfgate.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

This is a reasonable ruling I think.

We are so accustomed to hearing of ridiculous rulings from the Left Coast that it is reassuring to hear of one that has some common sense basis.

I would think that if a police officer has probable cause to effect a strip search in the field, there is sufficient cause to transport that individual to a suitable facility.