July 6, 2009

Strip Search of 13 Year Old Student Unconstitutional

The Youth Law Center celebrates the United State Supreme Court decision in Safford v. Redding, finding unconstitutional the strip search of a 13 year-old middle school student.  The 8-1 decision held that strip searching Savana Redding based on information from another girl who was found with prescription strength Ibuprofen and over the counter drugs.  The Court found that in the absence of  information indicating that pills would be found in Savana’s underwear, the strip search violated the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure.   The Youth Law Center participated in the case as amicus curiae in a brief on behalf of Savana filed by the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, law professors and juvenile advocacy groups around the country.  This was the first juvenile school search case considered by the High Court in 24 years.

Download the NY Times article on the case.