Category Archives: Strip search

W.D.Pa.: Def doesn’t overcome common law presumption SW records are public records

Defendant objects to the search warrant materials being unsealed on the docket. He has not overcome the common law presumption of open access. The First Amendment right of public access is even broader. These papers are unsealed. United States v. … Continue reading

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D.Nev.: There’s no 4A claim from officers running the serial number of a gun found in plain view

There is no Fourth Amendment claim for officers running the serial number of a gun after it was lawfully encountered, so no ineffective assistance of counsel. United States v. Hylton, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71338 (D. Nev. Apr. 14, 2025). … Continue reading

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E.D.Mich.: Ptf’s jail strip search on camera after contact visit was reasonable

Plaintiff’s jail strip search after a contact visit was reasonable, and the fact it was on camera doesn’t make it unreasonable. Parker v. Robert J. White Mich. Dep’t of Corr., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48519 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 27, 2025):

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CA10: Cross-gender prison strip search of transgender woman stated claim

A cross-gender jail strip search of a transgender woman with gender dysphoria stated a claim. Griffith v. El Paso Cty., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 3734 (10th Cir. Feb. 19, 2025). Defendant was involved in a head-on crash driving on the … Continue reading

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N.D.Iowa: Jail strip search for safety purposes was reasonable

This jail strip search under the jail’s policy for safety purposes was reasonable. United States v. Sutton, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10974 (N.D. Iowa Jan. 22, 2025).* Not the countervailing considerations:

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CA3: Conviction for threats by internet justified supervised release condition of computer monitoring

Where defendant was convicted of making threats over the internet to a Congressman, a two year computer monitoring condition was reasonable and did not violate the First and Fourth Amendment. United States v. Hall, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1109 (3d … Continue reading

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MA: SW for “controlled substances” without specifying anything in particular was overbroad

Search warrant for “controlled substances” without specifying anything in particular, including what the controlled buy allegedly was, was overbroad. In addition, the warrant wasn’t present at the search, so it can’t help limit the search [which seems kind of a … Continue reading

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E.D.Cal.: Successor habeas petition can’t be based on withheld information of a 4A violation

A successor habeas can’t be based on allegedly withheld evidence of a Fourth Amendment violation. Sanchez v. Cates, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 226067 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2024). Defendant can’t show that defense counsel was ineffective for not moving to … Continue reading

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NYTimes: Mount Vernon Police’s Strip Searches Were Unconstitutional, U.S. Says

NYTimes: Mount Vernon Police’s Strip Searches Were Unconstitutional, U.S. Says by Alyce McFadden (”A report by federal prosecutors found that a Westchester County police department violated the Fourth Amendment ‘on an enormous scale.’ [¶] Two women, 65 and 75 years … Continue reading

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Leftovers

2255 petitioner fails to show grounds for a CoA from his search claims, without telling us the rationale. United States v. Renteria, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 30239 (5th Cir. Nov. 26, 2024).* Defendant’s stop and frisk was without reasonable suspicion. … Continue reading

Posted in § 1983 / Bivens, Cell phones, Informant hearsay, Reasonable suspicion, Reasonableness, Stop and frisk, Strip search | Comments Off on Leftovers

W.D.Pa.: Use of coarse language during prison strip search didn’t make it unreasonable

Prison strip search was not unconstitutional. “Shepard has failed to allege facts to support that the November 2022 search was unreasonable. She acknowledges that such searches are routinely conducted before an inmate leaves the correctional institution for outside medical appointments. … Continue reading

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OH7: Postal worker’s information about defendant’s cash and mail was PC for warrant

A postal worker’s information that defendant had lots of cash and was receiving packages that smelled like marijuana was probable cause for his house. State v. Middleton, 2024-Ohio-5172, 2024 Ohio App. LEXIS 3877 (7th Dist. Oct. 28, 2024).* The use … Continue reading

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OH: Negligent disposal of def’s car in impound while he was in jail wasn’t done in bad faith

Police searched defendant’s car at the impound lot, and he was sent certified mail to tell him to pick it up or it would be disposed of. They mailed it to his house while he was in jail so he … Continue reading

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N.D.Okla.: Pipe on console of MMJ card holder not PC for plain view

A pipe on the car console of a MMJ card holder was not “immediately apparent” it was incriminating for plain view. United States v. Vasquez, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174528 (N.D. Okla. Sep. 25, 2024). Plaintiff filed his Fourth Amendment … Continue reading

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CA6: Electronic devices were “property under his control” subject to search while on supervised release

Defendant’s electronic devices were “property under his control” subject to search while on supervised release. United States v. Ramadan, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 23276 (6th Cir. Sep. 11, 2024). Plaintiff pleads an unreasonable strip search in prison, but the necessary … Continue reading

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CA5: Drug dog jumping in already open window not unreasonable

Drug dog’s spontaneously jumping in the vehicle window that was down when the stop began wasn’t directed by the officer and didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Wilson, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 19424 (5th Cir. Aug. 2, 2024). … Continue reading

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CA11: While prison visitor strip search violated 4A, SCOTUS and this circuit have never ruled, so QI applies [and QI reigns supreme]

A prison visitor was fully strip searched on entry into a Georgia state prison. This search violated the Fourth Amendment. But, because this circuit and SCOTUS have never confronted this issue, the law is not “clearly established” and she loses … Continue reading

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M.D.La.: Strip searches in investigative stops is enjoined

The Baton Rouge PD’s strip search policy of detainees in an investigative stop on less than probable cause is enjoined. “[T]he Court finds that, for any search beyond a frisk or pat-down of a citizen stopped pursuant to an investigatory … Continue reading

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CA2: Briefly seeing occupants of a house searched nude was not unreasonable

Under Los Angeles County v. Rettele, plaintiffs’ nude exposure to searching officers during a raid on a home wasn’t unreasonable. Jury verdict for defendants affirmed. Also, this was not a strip search. Miller v. City of N.Y., 2024 U.S. App. … Continue reading

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CA9: Boat moored near an open waterway is a “vehicle” not subject to the knock-and-announce

A boat moored near an open waterway is a “vehicle” not subject to the knock-and-announce rule. United States v. Jones, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 14481 (9th Cir. June 12, 2024). The government satisfied the independent source doctrine showing that it … Continue reading

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