WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday (April 2) ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.
Speaking for the four dissenters, Justice Breyer said that the Fourth Amendment should be understood to bar strip-searches of people arrested for minor offenses not involving drugs or violence, unless officials had a reasonable suspicion that they were carrying contraband.
Justice Kennedy, who supported the decision, wrote that about 13 million people are admitted each year to the nation’s jails.