E.D.Mich.: Claim that plaintiff was touched during her strip search stated a Fourth Amendment claim

A claim that plaintiff was touched during her strip search stated a Fourth Amendment claim. There is no distinction between a search of a woman’s breasts and her genital area for invasiveness. Van Beek v. Robinson, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98273 (E.D. Mich. July 16, 2012)*.

Defendants have dissected the patdown search into two components, claiming that the search of Plaintiff’s genital area is somehow distinct from the search of Plaintiff’s breasts. Defendants’ argument is not supported by any legal authority. Whether the search of Plaintiff was a reasonable and routine search-as Defendants’ contend-“depends upon all of the circumstances surrounding the search.” Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. at 537. The search of Plaintiff, therefore, includes the search of her genital area, along with the search of her breasts. Having conceded that the search of Plaintiff’s breasts creates a genuine dispute of fact, Plaintiff has established a constitutional violation under the Fourth Amendment by Defendants’ own admission.