Supreme Court rules strip search illegal
In an opinion that reads more like an episode of “Gossip Girl,” the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the strip search of a 13-year-old female student suspected of dispensing prescription-strength pills to friends was unconstitutional.
Savana Redding, now 19, had been accused by a friend, Marissa, of having given her ibuprofen, which is against the policy of her school in Safford, Ariz. Assistant Principal Kerry Wilson called Savana to his office, where he questioned her about the drugs he had found on Marissa. Savana told him that she didn’t know about any pills and, to prove her innocence, gave Wilson and Helen Romero, an administrative assistant, permission to search her backpack. Finding no contraband, Wilson ordered Romero and the school nurse, Peggy Schwallier, to search Savana’s clothes for any pills.
“They asked me to pull out my bra and shake it from side to side,” Savana said. “They made me open my legs and pull out my underwear.” This embarrassing event caused such distress that Savana developed stomach ulcers and eventually transferred to another school. “I never wanted to see the secretary or the nurse ever again.”
Believing the strip search violated her daughter’s rights, April Redding sued the school district. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, ruled that school officials had violated Savana’s Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, since Wilson had acted too aggressively on vague allegations. Without legal immunity, Wilson, Romero, and Schwallier were open to a personal lawsuit by Savana. On April 21, that case went to the Supreme Court.
In Safford Unified School District v. Redding, the Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court that Savana’s Fourth Amendment rights had been violated. However, the Court also held that Wilson, Romero, and Schwallier had qualified immunity and were therefore not liable for their wrongdoings. At the time of the strip search, “clearly established law [did] not show that the search violated the Fourth Amendment,” Pearson v. Callahan.
So what does this mean? The Supreme Court’s decision didn’t provide clear guidelines on when schools can strip search. Rather, in the future, school personnel should consider the type of contraband in question and whether there is reason to believe it’s hidden in an intimate place. Perhaps this will put an end to strip searches in schools. Or at the very least, give school personnel pause before asking students to reveal sensitive areas.
Category: U.S.
