SCotUS takes 4th Amend search case.

[LegalSmash]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/...l_strip_search

SCOTUS is taking another good case. In this gem, a teenager was strip searched on an accusation that she had given another girl prescription strength Ibeuprofen.

This case should be particularly interesting to watch. I really hope the court rules in favor the girl, as upon the facts of the case, it seemed like it would not have been overburdensome to detain her and have police get a warrant. While you have lowered expectations of privacy, I think a strip search goes way too far.

[Delirium]

And a 13 year old child sheesh... just for asprin. its not like she had bars or acid.

[LegalSmash]

Well, regardless of what she had, the issue here is the nature of the search. While a school official may search the bags, lockers, and even physical body of a person for contraband that would disrupt the school, for something as intrusive as a strip search, he should be required to call in the school officer and have him request a warrant, detaining the girl if necessary, or allow the officer to do the search, based on proper probably cause for warrant. The school's principal and nurse chose to ignore this. While the court has generally sided with the state in many of the previous 4th Amendment cases that have come through the high court in the past 10 years or so, this is a fairly new issue. Schools generally are granted wide berth to make their own decisions, but how far is too far?

[Delirium]

This is to far. she was 13 for christs sake.

[Slavic]

Age doesn't matter, the type of contraband in question doesn't matter. What does matter is whether or not the search was exsesive and unreasonable. In this incident the school by law had the right to search the students belongings and locker with out a search warrent or police intervention. The law basicly states if there is any any kind of suspition of illegal contraband on school property, the school has the right to search you; right to privacy or not.

The strip search though is highly unorthodox in a school setting and exsessive. If there was that much demanding suspiction, the school officials should of used the proper channels and either brought the student to a police station to be strip searched, or bring an officer in. The school officials have no training whatso ever in strip searches and in my opinion should not be allowed to perform such actions.

If the school officials had just searched her bags and her person, then this case would be in the supreme court right now.