The Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 that the strip search of a 13-year-old Arizona girl by school officials in pursuit of drugs (Ibuprofen) did indeed violate her constitutional rights — the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures, specifically.  But by a 7 to 2 vote they also maintained that the individual school officials responsible for the strip search should not be held liable, in Safford v. Redding. 

The highly visible case centered on Savana Redding who attended a school with a policy of zero tolerance for all drugs, over-the-counter types and prescription, as well. Acting on what has now been determined to be a false accusation by a fellow student, school officials strip searched the child without parental permission or presence. They defended themselves saying they were only falling back on the school’s policy that said the school had the right to “search and seize property, including school property temporarily assigned to students, when there is reason to believe that some material or matter detrimental to health, safety, and welfare of the student(s) exists."

The court’s ruling of qualified immunity from liability was based on the court’s assertion that the constitutional standard was not clear at the time of the search. Citing as precedent New Jersey v. T.L.O., a 1985 case that said that the school in question was justified in conducting a limited search of a student’s backpack and outer clothing only, Justice Souter opined that because lower court interpretations of T.L.O. vary widely, school officials who order underwear searches are not violating “clearly established law.” Here Souter cites precedence and turns right around and ignores that precedent.

The Wall Street Journal  suggested that the male justices of the high court seemed “puzzled at Ms. Redding’s humiliation over displaying her body to adult inquisitors.”  Justice Bryer asked at the oral argument that occurred in April, “Why is this a major thing, to say, ‘Strip down to your underclothes,” which is what children do when they change for gym?” This brought a response from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reminding Bryer that Ms. Redding wasn’t stripping down to her underwear, but instead shaking her underwear out.

Justice Souter referred to this point in the written ruling, writing: “Changing for gym is getting ready for play; exposing for a search is responding to an accusation reserved for suspected wrongdoers and fairly understood as so degrading that a number of communities have decided that strip searches in schools are never reasonable and have banned them no matter what the facts may be.” Souter went on to say that the content of the suspicion failed to match the degree of intrusion in this case.

Justices John Roberts, Jr., Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Bryer, and Samuel Alito, Jr. joined Souter in agreeing that constitutional rights were violated and that qualified immunity should be in store for the school officials. Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed on the constitutional violation, but dissented on the qualified immunity issue.  Stevens and Ginsburg argued that the constitutional standard should have been quite clear to school officials. Stevens wrote, “It does not require a constitutional scholar to conclude that a nude search of a 13-year-old is an invasion of constitutional rights of some magnitude.” To which Ginsburg added:

Any reasonable search for the pills would have ended when inspection of Redding’s backpack and jacket pockets yielded nothing. Wilson [assistant principal] had no cause to suspect, based on prior experience at the school or clues in this case, that Redding had hidden pills — containing the equivalent of two Advils or one Aleve — in her underwear or body. To make matters worse, Wilson did not release Redding, to return to class or to go home, after the search. Instead, he made her sit on a chair outside his office for over two hours. At no point did he attempt to call her parent. Abuse of authority of that order should not be shielded by official immunity.

Justice Clarence Thomas believed school officials should be immune, taking the strongest position against student rights and in favor of school administrators’ authority by voting against the constitutional violation and for qualified immunity. In his written opinion, he insists that schools know best in these matters and believes that the school officials had more than reasonable grounds to suspect that Redding was in possession of harmful drugs and that even judges are not qualified to “second-guess the best manner for maintaining quiet and order in the school environment.”  Thomas believes, “It is a mistake for judges to assume the responsibility for deciding which school rules are important enough to allow for invasive searches and which rules are not.” He added:

It is a crime to possess or use prescription-strength Ibuprofen without a prescription. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §13–3406(A)(1) (West Supp. 2008) (“A person shall not knowingly … [p]ossess or use a prescription-only drug unless the person obtains the prescription-only drug pursuant to a valid prescription of a prescriber who is licensed pursuant to [state law]”).5 By prohibiting unauthorized prescription drugs on school grounds — and conducting a search to ensure students abide by that prohibition — the school rule here was consistent with a routine provision of the state criminal code. It hardly seems unreasonable for school officials to enforce a rule that, in effect, proscribes conduct that amounts to a crime.

The court it seems, took great pains to guard against any “ill reflection” on the assistant principal who ordered the search and on the two female staff members who carried it out. Souter wrote, “Parents are known to overreact to protect their children from danger, and a school official with responsibility for safety may tend to do the same.” 

The court has spoken and the case reverts back to a lower court for an assessment of damages the school district may still be liable for.

Obvious to even laypersons is the new realization that even if one violates the Constitution in a flagrant and obvious manner, one’s actions can still qualify for immunity and one will not be held liable for any damages or punishment.

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Kai Winding said:

	... Ibuprofen? You have got to be kidding. Most kids in high school are doing alcohol and heavier drugs on a daily basis.
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June 25, 2009
Votes: +3

Matt Tonning said:

Ad Agency While drugs are a major problem so are aggressive rules that over ride personal dignity. To strip search a kid is over reaching common sense. but considering the mentality and integrity of today's educating systems nothing surprises me. I am glad the kid had her day in court and won a partial victory. I am sad that the morons who did this to her received nothing except a slight slap on the wrist and are still at work.

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June 25, 2009 | url
Votes: +3

Diginess said:

	... This strip search by a male school official is quite obviously the act of a pervert abusing his authority. He should be locked up at the very least. He's lucky I wasn't that girls father, or he'd be dead now.
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June 25, 2009
Votes: +3

The Government is beginning to have to much authority and power said:

	... I truly believe if I were to strip search a 13 YEAR OLD kid for "drugs" I should be thrown in jail. How in the hell can judges give the people responsible immunity? I'm flabbergasted.
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June 25, 2009
Votes: +3

Its Simple said:

... 4th amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. I think searching the girl without a warrant issued is clearly a violation of the constitution.

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June 25, 2009
Votes: +4

mj121 said:

	... The first thing I thought when I heard this story was if she had her period or not. If she did, it could have been a pretty embarrassing situation - one that the male justices and male school officials couldn't have identified with.
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June 25, 2009
Votes: +1

Eyeroll said:

With illiterates for parents... Diginess, the biggest tragedy here is the revelation that you have kids, given that you don't even know how to read: "The court it seems, took great pains to guard against any 'ill reflection' on the assistant principal who ordered the search and on the two female staff members who carried it out." The search was conducted by females, and if the male principle had stood there and watched, he would have been fired (and no doubt brought up on charges) immediately. Your little fantasy scenario never happened, or that whole gym class analogy would have made no sense.

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June 25, 2009
Votes: +0

Flu-Bird said:

	End unreasonible searches All unreasonible searches should be ended i mean i heard of a student who was suspended becuase snooping school officials found a knif that had fallen between the floorboards of her car these school big noses should be barred from this
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June 26, 2009
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Derak said:

... Here we have a strip-searche of an underage girl based only on one accusation without notifying parents for a legal substance. How clear cut can it be that this was 100% wrong? Then, in spite of the fact that the court found it to be wrong, except for what, scalia, that seems to think kids should be strip searched at random - in spite of the ruling that this was unconstitutional the wrongdoers who violated the girl's constitutional rights are granted immunity. This is outrageous and shows a complete lack of respect for the Bill of Rights by the Supreme Court of the land.

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June 29, 2009
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D Nelson said:

	The thought is revealed in the act Well, there you have it folks. The highest court in the land has declared that there should be no penalty for those that trample upon your Constitutional rights. It should scare us all, that the highest law of the land is not willing to bring these criminals to justice.
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June 29, 2009
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