In an assertion of the Fourth Amendment, the high court ruled 8-1 Thursday that school officials violated the privacy rights of Savana Redding when she was strip searched for ibuprofen.
The search took place in 2003 after a fellow student caught with ibuprofen claimed she got the pills from Redding. The assistant princpal had Redding’s bag searched before ordering a school nurse to conduct the strip search, which included Redding shaking out her bra and pulling her underwear out.
Redding was represented in this case by the American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU lawyer Adam Wolf said students can now breathe a sigh of relief. “Today’s ruling affirms that schools are not constitutional dead zones,” he said. ”While we are disappointed with the Court’s conclusion that the law was not clear before today and therefore school officials were not found liable, at least other students will not have to go through what Savana experienced.”
In the opinion of the Court, Justice David Souter wrote:
“Because there were no reasons to suspect the drugs presented a danger or were concealed in her underwear, we hold that the search did violate the Constitution, but because there is reason to question the clarity with which the right was established, the official who ordered the unconstitutional search is entitled to qualified immunity from liability.”
In a suprising vote, Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter writing:
“…the Court has undercut student safety and undermined the authority of school administrators and local officials. Even more troubling, it has done so in a case in which the underlying response by school administrators was reasonable and justified.”
While I do agree with some arguments made by Justice Thomas, I disagree with his decision and part of the decision by the majority of the Court.
I believe that if a strip search is to be performed on a minor student, a parent should be notified and present, as well as law enforcement personel. It should not be at the sole discretion of overzealous school adminstrators. I also belive the adminstrators should be held responsible for their violation of the Fourth Amendment.
