Supremes nix stripping teenagers for pain relievers
Strip search of 13-year-old unconstitutional, Supreme Court says
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the strip search of a 13-year-old schoolgirl violated the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
In a closely watched case filled with poignant facts, the court ruled 8-1 that Arizona school officials violated student Savana Redding’s Fourth Amendment rights when they searched her down to her bra and underpants. Officials were looking for pain relievers, which they didn’t find.
“The content of the suspicion failed to match the degree of intrusion,” Justice David Souter wrote for the majority.
The Safford Middle School nurse and administrative assistant who searched Redding in October 2003 told her to remove her stretch pants and T-shirt. They then directed her to pull her bra to the side and shake it, and to pull out the elastic on her underpants.
They were looking for prescription-strength ibuprofen and over-the-counter naproxen, which another student had suggested might be hers.
“What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear,” Souter wrote.</em>
