A New Jersey man who was strip searched in prison after being accused of failing to pay a traffic fine lost his Supreme Court appeal Monday. The 5-4 divided court found two county jails "struck a reasonable balance between inmate privacy and the needs of the (correctional) institution." The conservative majority concluded a "reasonable suspicion" standard could be applied when conducting examinations of newly admitted prisoners. Albert Florence said he was subjected to what he called a pair of intrusive, humiliating searches six years ago. But Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said the policy was designed in part to protect the safety of Florence and other inmates.
"Exempting people arrested for minor offenses from a standard search protocol thus may put them at greater risk and result in more contraband being brought into the detention facility," said Kennedy. "This is a substantial reason not to mandate the exception (Florence) seeks as a matter of constitutional law."
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito supported all or part of Kennedy's opinion.
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