Supreme Court To Hear School Strip-Search Case - npr.org
The Supreme Court of the United States is set to hear oral arguments pertaining to the case of a Safford, Arizona girl who was subjected to a strip search on the suspicion of drug possession. Savana Redding, now a 19 year old college freshman, was a 13 year old honor student at the time of the incident. Redding was forced to strip down to her underwear and reveal her private parts to her middle schools nurse and a secretary that worked for the school's principal.
According to the NPR article "The Supreme Court ruled in 1985 that schools may conduct searches of a student's purse or backpack without a warrant, but the court did not then address the question of an intimate search."
The Constitutional question in this matter is whether or not schools have the right to perform an intimate search based on mere suspicion. To find the answer the Justices will look to the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; an amendment that guarantees:
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.
In the case of Savana Redding, no such warrant was ever issued; a clear violation of Redding's Civil Liberties. Let's just hope that the Court decides the same way.
However, one thing to bear in mind is that, under the doctrine of parens patriae, the same Civil Liberties that are granted to adults may not always extended to minors. The justification for this is that the state acts in the best interest of the child.