School Strip Search Case Headed for En Banc Rehearing
Thursday, January 31st by Robert LoblawRedding v. Safford Unified School District #1, 05-15759 (9th Cir., Jan. 31, 2008)
Remember this appeal from last September?
Thirteen-year-old Savana Redding, an honor roll student with no prior disciplinary problems, was required to strip, exposing her breasts and pubic area, in a fruitless search for — at worst — prescription strength ibuprofen.
Redding sued the school district for violating her Fourth Amendment, but a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit tossed out her claims. (My coverage here.) Today, the Ninth ordered en banc rehearing. This should get interesting.
January 31st, 2008 at 3:30 am
Ninth to rehear public school public strip search case en banc…
DotD reports on how the Ninth said that a school didn’t violate a student’ Fourth Amendment rights when they stripped-searched her in public for aspirin. It turns out that she got one of them fancy lawyers, who convinced the Ninth…
February 1st, 2008 at 2:08 am
Although I have my reservations, I agree with the majority. This is a middle school we are talking about here and because of all the accompanying drug paraphernalia, I don’t think school officials had any choice in the matter.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I’m sorry, I agree with the dissent.
Schools have gone amazingly overboard with their ‘zero-tolerance’ drug policies.
This was a strip search looking for Ibuprofen. Based on a rumor. In what world do we think that 13 yo girls smuggle ibuprofen to school in their underwear.
I agree that a search was reasonable. Backpack, pockets, purse, but I believe the school went way overboard when they thought a strip search was reasonable. I saw no mention of a search of the girl’s locker. I would think that a more likely place to find drugs.
I was particularly appalled that strip searches are so common in this school that they have a procedure outlined for it.