U.S. Supreme Court: No Strip Searching Schoolchildren

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In an 8 to 1 vote, the United States Supreme Court ruled in its first case involving student strip searches that a public school violated the privacy rights of a teenage girl who had to disrobe based on the suspicion that she had ibuprofen pills in her possession.

The justices upheld a ruling that the school and its officials violated the U.S. constitutional right under the Fourth Amendment which protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The ruling by the nation's high court was a major defeat for school officials who had defended the strip search as necessary for student safety, school order and combating a growing drug problem.

School officials in Safford, Arizona, had ordered the strip search in 2003 of Savana Redding, who was 13 and in the eighth grade. It did not turn up any ibuprofen -- an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication used to treat fever, headaches and pain -- or any other drugs.

"Because there were no reasons to suspect the drugs presented a danger or were concealed in her underwear, we hold that the search did violate the Constitution," Justice David Souter wrote for the court majority.

Adam Wolf, a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union who represented Redding, hailed the decision. "Students and those who care about their well-being can breathe a sigh of relief," he said. "Today's ruling affirms that schools are not constitutional dead zones. Savana ... is pleased that other students will not have to go through the trauma that she experienced."

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