Posted April 23, 2006

 Day v. County of Ventura, WL 1028835

 Ninth Circuit Rules that Suspicion less Strip Search Policy Violates the Fourth Amendment

           Noelle Way was arrested for 11550 and taken to a pretrial detention facility, where she was subjected to a strip search and visual body cavity inspection pursuant to county policy in cases of "fresh misdemeanor drug charges." PC § 4030(f) suggests that suspicion less strip searches and visual body cavity inspections may be made prior to placing an arrestee into the general population, in cases involving controlled substances, violence and weapons.

           Way was held for several hours and then released on bail, never having been placed into the population. Her blood test was negative for drugs. She sued the sheriff and the searching deputy for violating her Fourth Amendment rights.

           The Ninth Circuit ruled that the county's policy was unconstitutional as applied to an 11550 arrestee. The court said that absent evidence that "all persons arrested for being under the influence of a drug are likely to have concealed more drugs in a bodily cavity," reasonable suspicion is required in any given case before a strip search with visual body cavity inspection could be allowed.

           Agencies should promptly review their pretrial detainee search policies with legal advisors to determine whether this opinion mandates any changes.