Supreme Court oversteps bounds, rights of inmates
The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote Monday that officials have the right — even without reasonable suspicion — to strip-search individuals arrested for any offense before committing them to jail.
This case stems from a lawsuit brought on by Albert W. Florence. Florence was sitting in the passenger seat of his BMW when his wife was pulled over for speeding. When the officer on the scene discovered an outstanding warrant for an unpaid fine following a records search, Florence was taken into custody.
Florence spent a week in jail, where he was strip-searched twice and ordered to “squat and cough,” and also to “spread his cheeks.”
It turned out that the information was wrong, and the fine had been paid prior to Florence’s arrest. But the damage had been done.
Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders was eventually heard and ruled upon by the Supreme Court of the United States.
While the decision is intended to protect prison guards and inmates, it is grossly negligent of the Fourth Amendment, which states, “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.”
This ruling exemplifies an alarming trend in recent landmark judicial decisions: overwhelming complaisance toward law enforcement officials and blatant disregard for the rights of citizens.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy defended his decision by writing that “the courts are in no position to second guess the judgments of correctional officials” — an astounding contradiction of the principle of checks and balances by which our country’s government was founded.
What is equally telling and almost more disturbing is Kennedy’s statement that each year about 13 million people are admitted to the nation’s jails. With the current U.S. population at roughly 313 million, an estimated one in 24 people in America will be incarcerated this year alone.
This fact attests to a societal progression in which more than four times the amount of American citizens are arrested than graduate high school in a single year.
The lethal combination of the growing reach of law enforcement and strict punishments for petty crimes like traffic violations and marijuana possession have led to jails becoming “crowded, unsanitary and dangerous places,” as described by Kennedy.
This blatant disregard for the Constitution by the people responsible to uphold it is extremely frustrating and has terrifying implications. The rights of many were taken away in exchange for the safety of a few. As Thomas Jefferson said, “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
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