Girl's strip search argued in court
WASHINGTON -- In Supreme Court arguments Tuesday over the strip search of a 13-year-old for prescription-strength ibuprofen, more justices voiced sympathy for the school administrators looking for possible drugs than for the girl who had to take off her clothes.
Several justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, appeared open to arguments that administrators need wide latitude to search a student when they get a tip about potential drug abuse.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was most forceful on the other side, questioning whether an Arizona school district could justify the search six years ago of eighth-grader Savana Redding.
School officials found no drugs after the vice principal directed a school nurse and administrative assistant, both women, to search Savana in the nurse's office. They had her take off her shoes and socks, then her shirt and pants. They then directed Savana to pull out her bra and pull open her panties to see whether she was hiding pills.
The case could determine the power administrators have to order such intrusive searches in many circumstances. Numerous students attended the argument, including a group of seniors from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif. They arrived at the court at 4 a.m. Tuesday to be first in line for spectator seats.
A lower federal appeals court had ruled the search at Safford Middle School was a violation of Savana's Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and said school officials should be held financially responsible for harm to her.
As justices heard an appeal from the Safford district, they struggled with how to address all situations, from banned pain relievers to lethal drugs such as cocaine.
Some recalled their own adolescence. Justice Stephen Breyer said that middle-schoolers often hid things in their underwear, but then he protested — amid laughter — "Not my underwear."
Breyer also questioned the degree of the privacy intrusion. "I'm trying to work out why is this a major thing to say, 'Strip down to your underclothes,' " he said, "which children do when they change for gym."
