High court upholds jailhouse strip searches(edited)

Re: Fear rules the right wing SCOTUS

My issue is putting him in jail in the first place. Six days in jail? What a nightmare. All the time and effort needed to deal with this guy could have been spent more productively. I don't want to take away the ability to strip search someone in jail but the police in this case should have used some common sense and discretion. What a bunch of a-holes.

Re: Fear rules the right wing SCOTUS

poweRob said:

I acknowledge that. And I think its a jail not a prison and when you are arrested and jailed, you are detained, not guilty because your day in court hasn't happened yet.

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From what I understand jails usually house those convicted of a misdemeanor(A crime that is punishable with a year or less of incarceration),so its not just those awaiting trial,and publicly intoxicated drunks.

poweRob said:

So much for conservative values from our uber right wing 5 in the SCOTUS.

High court upholds jailhouse strip searches

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled against a New Jersey man who was strip searched in two county jails following his arrest on a warrant for an unpaid fine that he had, in reality, paid.

The decision resolved a conflict among lower courts about how to balance security and privacy. Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, lower courts generally prohibited routine strip searches for minor offenses. In recent years, however, courts have allowed jailers more discretion to maintain security, and the high court ruling ratified those decisions.

In this case, Albert Florence's nightmare began when the sport utility vehicle driven by his pregnant wife was pulled over for speeding. He was a passenger; his 4-year-old son was in the backseat.

Justice Anthony Kennedy said the circumstances of the arrest were of little importance. Instead, Kennedy said, Florence's entry into the general jail population gave guards the authorization to force him to strip naked and expose his mouth, nose, ears and genitals to a visual search in case he was hiding anything.​

This is where libertarians and I get along just fine in agreeing that the GOP believes that privacy is not a value of any kind for Americans because Republicans are too scared and IMO, this makes them too scared to run the country.

Ben Franklin was right. We gotta get these activist cowards out of the Judicial system. They always side with authority over the people.

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If you get arrested you should be stripped searched before being put in jail. Its for the safety of the other inmates and guards.

Re: Fear rules the right wing SCOTUS

DarkWizard12 said:

I'm sure that's not the only reason why they stripped search him.

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If you see the jon stewart show from last night where he interviewed the guy who argued the case in front of the SCOTUS, they were doing it to harass the guy.


Here's a piece Stewart did early in that episode addressing it.

Re: Fear rules the right wing SCOTUS

ksu_aviator said:

First, Franklin's quote has nothing to do with this case. He was referring to laws that restrict freedom to gain security.

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Actually, Ben Franklin's quote, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," is very appropriate for this topic. We hear conservative talk show hosts talk about liberty and tyranny all the time. I can understand how some people might believe that strip searches a person for any crime no matter how minor is justified in order to prevent inmates from coming into possession of weapons or other items that poses a risk to safety, but let's allow some common sense to sink in, shall we?

First off, they're called "inmates" for a reason, folks. Criminals are confined to jail cells in order to keep them away from society. I know police/security guards need to keep illegal weapons and other contraban out of the hands of inmates, but do you really think a person who was pulled over for speeding is going to purposely bring a gun or knive into the jail house for the sole purpose of aiding a convict? He'd have better odds at aiding criminals by baking him/her a cake with a weapon inside.

Second, wouldn't it be easier to subject the arrested individual to a pat-down and have him/her to empty their pockets? If you say they're already doing that but weapons and such are still getting through, I say somebody in law enforcement isn't doing their job if ordinary, everyday citizens who happend to have been picked up for a routine traffic stop is somehow passing weapons to hardened criminals.

Second, this guy was accused of a violation and arrested. His strip search was part of the effort of the guards to prevent dangerous weapons, drugs and other contraband from entering the prison system. The fact that he was wrongly accused does not negate the need to keep contraband from the prison population.

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Key word, "accused". Not charged. I don't know if there was more to the man's arrest than what's been in the media, but if I'm a passenger in a car w/my wife and the only violation was my wife was pulled over for speeding but somehow I've become the person being arrested, I'd like to know what the hell I'm being charged with!!! Wouldn't you? Moreover, being strip searched over a traffic ticket is extremely excessive! The only "violation" here being committed are the police violating this man's persons over a non-violent crime. If he had a weapon of any kind, a simple pat down would have discovered the weapon and the local PD should by procedure enter his belongings into evidence like they do everything else.

You want to talk about over-reach, this is it!

jamesrage said:

If you get arrested you should be stripped searched before being put in jail. Its for the safety of the other inmates and guards.

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Again, what was the man's crime?

Why was he arrested?

What law did he violate?

Was he asked if he was carrying a consealed weapon? If so, did the officer in charge discover he was lying? If the person being arrested handed over his weapon(s), if any, there's no need to conduct a strip search since a pat-down should have discovered any additional weapons on his person as a matter of routine. Again, if local PD are doing their job no concealed weapons should ever find their way into holding cells. Now, to be clear if the situation was preparing a new inmate for prison population, then yes, every new inmate should be strip searched. However, as I understand this situation the "arrested" individual wasn't being processed for prison or even local jain incarseration. So, why conduct a strip search over a simple traffic violation?

Say it with me now, O-V-E-R-R-E-A-C-H of judicial power.