CLEMENTS Et Al. v. LOGAN

Background

A woman arrested on suspicion of drunk driving refused a breath test until she could call an attorney. A local magistrate issued warrants and ordered she be held until a responsible person arrived. The county sheriff had a blanket policy, adopted after a deputy was shot, requiring visual strip-searches of everyone held at the detention center. A deputy conducted a visual strip-search—removing clothing one garment at a time for inspection—and the woman later sued for damages and a court order to stop the policy.

Reasoning

The Court of Appeals held the county’s blanket strip-search policy unconstitutional and ordered a permanent ban and damages against the deputies. Applicants asked for a stay to stop that order and the impending damages trial. Justice Rehnquist, acting as Circuit Justice, concluded the appeals court’s ruling conflicted with this Court’s earlier decision upholding certain jail strip-searches. He found the woman’s situation similar to pretrial detainees in that earlier case and thought the full Court should review the matter. Rehnquist temporarily stayed the appeals court’s mandate and referred the stay request to the full Court for immediate consideration.

Real world impact

The temporary stay pauses enforcement of the appeals court’s ban and delays the damages trial, leaving the county’s search policy in effect for now. Because the stay is only temporary while the Supreme Court decides whether to take the case, the final outcome and long-term rules about blanket strip-searches could still change.