Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, April 3, 2012
Crime US Supreme Court Affirms Warrantless Ass Searches
Posted by Goldy on Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 9:18 AM
Turns out Cienna can continue to cover SPD with impunity, despite yesterday's fascistic 5-4 Supreme Court decision authorizing unlimited strip and body cavity searches of prisoners, without probable cause, and no matter how minor the offense. The suit was brought by a New Jersey man who was repeatedly strip searched and body cavity searched after being arrested on an erroneous seven-year-old warrant on an "unpaid" fine he'd already paid (he even showed the arresting officer the receipt). But according to a majority of justices on the highest court in the land, that's just the American way. Yay!
Essentially, police officers and prison guards are now free to use body cavity searches as a form of punishment and humiliation. Welcome to Abu Ghraib.
My first thought upon hearing the news was that Cienna might not want to be so cavalier about her jaywalking, especially so close to the East Precinct. All it takes is one pissed off police officer, and Cienna could find herself squatting naked on a concrete floor, with officers looking up her ass. But thankfully, Washington is one of a handful of states that places statutory limits on looking up Cienna's ass without a warrant.
So feel free, Cienna, to continue fearlessly covering Rich O'Neill as the feckless bag of limp dicks you say he is. (And "smelly," Cienna clarifies.)
2
Interesting how, in this case, that the conservative side of the Supreme Court is not conservative at all when it comes to this flavor of excessive government intrusion.
3
@2: Now now, they're only interested in small government because they're worried it won't fit inside vaginas otherwise.
5
Horrifying how politicized that court has become, and Alito and Roberts will be there a long long time.
7
You wouldn't want prisoners being held for felonies like manslaughter and rape to feel that kind of embarrassment.
9
@2,
What are you talking about? Conservatives have always been in favor of big government and of government intrusion. They're doing what they always do.
What are you talking about? Conservatives have always been in favor of big government and of government intrusion. They're doing what they always do.
10
@ 9, she may be confused because she believed the teabaggers were the face of the party, and the lip service paid them by the GOP was an honest expression of their aims.
11
One of the things I've always been proudest about is that Washington state's constitution places higher restrictions on search and seizure than the 4th Amendment does.
12
@2 - of course the conservatives in the Soviet Union were the ones that backed massive restrictions on free speech and rejected all forms of private business transactions. Conservative is always a relative term. I read 'conservative' here, and in most cases, as 'authoritarian oligarchic corporatists'.
13
Sure thing, Goldy. And the next time you get busted, we'll be sure to give you a cellmate who hasn't had his "prison wallet" searched for a shiv. You'll have a fun time, I promise.
14
Everybody knows the constitution grants protection against unreasonable search and seizure, what this ruling presupposes is... maybe it doesn't?
16
You mean, I don't have a right to privacy when I'M IN JAIL?
It's worth noting, something else is going on with the guy in the story. Who carries reciepts for fines paid 7 years ago in their vehicle or on their person? This guy was a troublemaker the cops probably knew well who acted like an asshole in custody and got treated like the asshole he was. I did a walkthrough of a KC Jail while in college. Law enforcement at the jail is going to keep beligerent prisoners under control, both for the safety of law enforcement and the other prisoners. Don't act like an asshole and you won't have to worry about your asshole, about sums it up.
I defend the 4th Amendment as vigorously as anyone, but this takes the biscuit for utter stupidity. Even for Goldy, who makes rocks look smart. (Sorry, rocks, for even thinking of you in the same breath as the submoron Goldy.)
And no-one, no-one at all, wants to cavity search the manhating Madrid. She probably has teeth down there. Decayed cavity ridden teeth, but still, doing a search might lose you fingers. No sane man would EVER have sex with someone who hates men so virulently, so losing anything else is kind of off the table.
It's worth noting, something else is going on with the guy in the story. Who carries reciepts for fines paid 7 years ago in their vehicle or on their person? This guy was a troublemaker the cops probably knew well who acted like an asshole in custody and got treated like the asshole he was. I did a walkthrough of a KC Jail while in college. Law enforcement at the jail is going to keep beligerent prisoners under control, both for the safety of law enforcement and the other prisoners. Don't act like an asshole and you won't have to worry about your asshole, about sums it up.
I defend the 4th Amendment as vigorously as anyone, but this takes the biscuit for utter stupidity. Even for Goldy, who makes rocks look smart. (Sorry, rocks, for even thinking of you in the same breath as the submoron Goldy.)
And no-one, no-one at all, wants to cavity search the manhating Madrid. She probably has teeth down there. Decayed cavity ridden teeth, but still, doing a search might lose you fingers. No sane man would EVER have sex with someone who hates men so virulently, so losing anything else is kind of off the table.
18
Gee @13, I hadn't realized until just now that you have the ability to decide which prisoners are assigned to what specific cells...
19
Asparagus
This ruling presupposes that you are subject to search once placed under arrest. Right up to that point warrants and all that apply. This is an extreme oversimplification of how the 4th Amendment has been interpreted over the years, but it's a good starting point.
The flip side is that once placed under arrest the officer must justify the arrest only on what was observed or otherwise is in evidence at or prior to the time of arrest. He or she cannot use anything from subsequent searches to justify the initial arrest.
Nor did the arresting officer have any choice in this case, receipt or not. An arrest warrant is a binding document on a police officer. It's up to a judge to determine if a miscarriage of justice happened and respond within judicial authority.
Try to keep up with the grownups, will you?
Pol Pot,
Really? What the fuck is wrong with you, choosing a name like that, you sick fuck? Oh, and with your hatred of the United States, you're cordially invited to fuck off and die.
This ruling presupposes that you are subject to search once placed under arrest. Right up to that point warrants and all that apply. This is an extreme oversimplification of how the 4th Amendment has been interpreted over the years, but it's a good starting point.
The flip side is that once placed under arrest the officer must justify the arrest only on what was observed or otherwise is in evidence at or prior to the time of arrest. He or she cannot use anything from subsequent searches to justify the initial arrest.
Nor did the arresting officer have any choice in this case, receipt or not. An arrest warrant is a binding document on a police officer. It's up to a judge to determine if a miscarriage of justice happened and respond within judicial authority.
Try to keep up with the grownups, will you?
Pol Pot,
Really? What the fuck is wrong with you, choosing a name like that, you sick fuck? Oh, and with your hatred of the United States, you're cordially invited to fuck off and die.
20
@9
Exactly.
The "conservatives" want big government in your life.
But they want small government in the "life" of a business.
Exactly.
The "conservatives" want big government in your life.
But they want small government in the "life" of a business.
21
It's a good thing for me I'm not a cop. If I were, I'd drive to the houses of Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy, serve each with a specious warrant, and ass-search each of their asses.
22
I was just wishing that Ginsburg and Breyer would retire now so that Obama could appoint their replacements, but the Republicans in Congress would stall until Romney took office. Does anyone know if an appointment is stalled until a new President takes office, the new President can trump the previous appointment?
23
At the risk of sounding far more conservative than I am, I have to side with 5280 here. Have you ever been to jail? Strip searches, while somewhat demeaning, actually make jails MUCH safer. Without such searches, there would be far more weapons in jails. Personally, if I'm ever put in jail for some minor offense, I'd rather not be stabbed to death by some other inmate who wasn't properly searched.
The problem here isn't the search. The problem is the unjustified arrest in the first place. Albert Florence should have sued for false arrest rather than wining about the strip searches.
The problem here isn't the search. The problem is the unjustified arrest in the first place. Albert Florence should have sued for false arrest rather than wining about the strip searches.
25
@24
Right. Because the problem with jail is jay walkers who hide knives in their butts.
No. If it is a minor offense then it is unlikely that the person is carrying a knife in his butt.
If you are stabbed in jail by a guy with a butt knife then it is probably by a repeat offender who planned ahead.
Right. Because the problem with jail is jay walkers who hide knives in their butts.
No. If it is a minor offense then it is unlikely that the person is carrying a knife in his butt.
If you are stabbed in jail by a guy with a butt knife then it is probably by a repeat offender who planned ahead.
26
@25: Do tell, how many cavity searches have you done on people? Oh, that's what I thought. Truth is, you have no fucking clue how many people are walking around with stuff up their butts right now, do you?
You'd be surprised.
You'd be surprised.
27
I have volunteered at a state prison for years, and when you are in prison you do not have any right to privacy at all.
Restricting rights is the punishment, and prison officials can already strip and cavity search a prisoner without probable cause. The same way they can tell them when to eat and shower, what cell to sleep in, and where they can go in the prison.
If you are arguing about a certain person being in prison in the first place, that is a completely different issue, and has nothing to do with searches.
Restricting rights is the punishment, and prison officials can already strip and cavity search a prisoner without probable cause. The same way they can tell them when to eat and shower, what cell to sleep in, and where they can go in the prison.
If you are arguing about a certain person being in prison in the first place, that is a completely different issue, and has nothing to do with searches.
28
Let's separate the hard core prison fantasy from the reality that most of us will find more common...strip search as punishment for minor offenses.
Back in the early 90's New Jersey wanted to crack down on the number of people driving without insurance. A middle aged professional woman driving her car to NYC gets stopped in an insurance check and doesn't have her insurance card because her husband has it in his wallet in a different car. The cop is giving her a hard time and she's calling bullshit on it. She gets arrested for driving without insurance. Since she's now a "prisoner" she gets strip searched. All this could have been cleared up with a call to her insurance agent, but instead she gets the gulag treatment and it's all perfectly legal.
Back in the early 90's New Jersey wanted to crack down on the number of people driving without insurance. A middle aged professional woman driving her car to NYC gets stopped in an insurance check and doesn't have her insurance card because her husband has it in his wallet in a different car. The cop is giving her a hard time and she's calling bullshit on it. She gets arrested for driving without insurance. Since she's now a "prisoner" she gets strip searched. All this could have been cleared up with a call to her insurance agent, but instead she gets the gulag treatment and it's all perfectly legal.
29
@26
"Do tell, how many cavity searches have you done on people? Oh, that's what I thought."
Really? How is it that you haven't won the lottery yet? Or is it that you can read minds?
Oh! You were just pretending. You thought the number was zero. I guess that invalidates the rest of your comment as well.
@28
Exactly.
We're talking jail here. Not prison. Just about every little town out there with a cop has a jail.
And now those cops are legally allowed to strip search ANYONE for ANY OFFENSE including NO OFFENSE AT ALL (as was shown in the case before the SCOTUS).
"Do tell, how many cavity searches have you done on people? Oh, that's what I thought."
Really? How is it that you haven't won the lottery yet? Or is it that you can read minds?
Oh! You were just pretending. You thought the number was zero. I guess that invalidates the rest of your comment as well.
@28
Exactly.
We're talking jail here. Not prison. Just about every little town out there with a cop has a jail.
And now those cops are legally allowed to strip search ANYONE for ANY OFFENSE including NO OFFENSE AT ALL (as was shown in the case before the SCOTUS).
30
Interesting that Obama is on the side of the conservative authoritarians and 5280 (but that's redundant).
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