Opinion ID: 687305
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Constitutionality of the Strip Search

Text: 23 Count IX of the amended complaint alleged that the strip search conducted by Davis at the jail violated Kraushaar's Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. The complaint alleged that there was no probable cause to believe that Kraushaar was guilty of any crime or that he was in possession of a weapon or other controlled substance. The complaint further alleged that the search was conducted in violation of the Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure's requirements for strip searches. 2 24 The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Davis on the grounds that probable cause existed for the limited strip search based upon the information provided by trooper Flanigan--i.e., that Flanigan believed that Kraushaar had hidden something in his pants. The court acknowledged that the search did not comply with all of the requirements set forth by the state statute governing strip searches because there was no written authorization form and or a written report of the search. However, the court held that the state statute did not create a federally protected liberty interest and, therefore, failure to comply with the statute's requirements was not actionable under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. We find no error in either ruling. 25 The Fourth Amendment provides that [t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons ... against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.... U.S. Const. amend. IV. To determine whether a search is reasonable requires a balancing of the need for the particular search against the invasion of personal rights that the search entails. Courts must consider the scope of the particular intrusion, the manner in which it is conducted, the justification for initiating it, and the place in which it is conducted. Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 559, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 1884, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979). 26 A detention facility is a unique place fraught with serious security dangers[,] id., and officials have a legitimate and substantial need to prevent arrestees from bringing weapons or contraband into such a facility. Mary Beth G. v. City of Chicago, 723 F.2d 1263, 1273 (7th Cir.1983). Balanced against this interest, however, is the fact that strip searches involving visual inspection of the genital areas are demeaning, dehumanizing, undignified, humiliating, terrifying, unpleasant, embarrassing, repulsive, signifying degradation and submission.... Id. at 1272. Accordingly, this court has held that it is unreasonable to conduct a strip search of a person arrested for a traffic offense unless authorities have a reasonable suspicion that the arrestee is concealing weapons or contraband on his person. Id. at 1273. Whether a suspicion is reasonable depends upon such factors as the nature of the offense, the arrestee's appearance and conduct, and the prior arrest record. Giles v. Ackerman, 746 F.2d 614, 617 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1053, 105 S.Ct. 2114, 85 L.Ed.2d 479 (1985). 27 The undisputed facts show that Kraushaar had been arrested for driving under the influence pursuant to 625 Ill.Comp.Stat. 5/11-501(a) and the arresting officer informed Davis that the officer believed that Kraushaar had put something down his pants. As the district court pointed out, Davis and Flanigan could reasonably infer that an arrestee would not normally put an item inside his pants unless it was something he intends to hide from authorities. That inference is not an inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or 'hunch,'  Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1883, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), but rather the sort of 'common-sense conclusio[n] about human behavior' upon which 'practical people'--including government officials--are entitled to rely. New Jersey v. T.L.O, 469 U.S. 325, 346, 105 S.Ct. 733, 745, 83 L.Ed.2d 720 (1985) (quoting United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981)). Indeed, if Davis had not conducted a search based upon this knowledge, he would have been open to negligence charges if Kraushaar had in fact concealed a weapon or contraband in his pants and that item ultimately caused a death or injury inside the jail. 28 Kraushaar argues that while Davis may have had grounds to believe that Kraushaar put something in his pants, there was no reason to infer that the item was a weapon or contraband. However, Kraushaar ignores the fact that Sec. 11-501 of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Code makes it a crime to drive while under the influence of alcohol, other drug, or combination thereof. 625 Ill.Comp.Stat. 5/11-501(a) (emphasis added). Although there was strong evidence of alcohol intoxication in Kraushaar's case, that does not rule out the possibility of impairment by drugs as well. 29 The appellant points to decisions by other circuits which suggest that a DUI is not commonly associated by its very nature with the possession of weapons or contraband.... Hill v. Bogans, 735 F.2d 391, 394 (10th Cir.1984); Logan v. Shealy, 660 F.2d 1007, 1013 (4th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 942, 102 S.Ct. 1435, 71 L.Ed.2d 653 (1982). Absent in those cases, however, was any additional factor that would suggest that the DUI arrestee might possess contraband. In Kraushaar's case, on the other hand, the fact of his arrest was coupled with specific conduct--i.e., the furtive hand movements that suggested that he was attempting to hide something in his pants. Because an officer cannot rule out the possibility that a DUI is drug-related, the combination of these facts gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that Kraushaar may have been trying to hide drugs. 30 The appellant also cites to several Tenth Circuit decisions which suggest that jails can meet their security concerns by less-intrusive means, such as a thorough pat-down search. See, e.g., Cottrell v. Kaysville City, Utah, 994 F.2d 730, 735 (10th Cir.1993); Chapman v. Nichols, 989 F.2d 393, 396-97 (10th Cir.1993); Hill, 735 F.2d at 394. In that court's view, [a]lmost anything that the examining officer could have found through [a strip search] would have already been discovered during the pat down search that had been conducted on plaintiff's arrival at the jail. Hill, 735 F.2d at 394. However, in each of those cases, the Tenth Circuit found no circumstances that would suggest that the arrestee was harboring weapons or contraband. Thus, the strip search was not used to recover an item that was reasonably believed to be concealed under the arrestee's clothing; rather, the search was used as a means of discovering whether an arrestee possessed such items. In Kraushaar's case, on the other hand, the arresting officer had a reasonable suspicion that Kraushaar had hidden some type of contraband in his pants. Therefore, for purposes of jail security, it was necessary to conduct a more intrusive search to either dispel or confirm that suspicion. Where an arrestee is wearing blue jeans or another heavy material, even the most thorough pat-down search will not necessarily turn up small items such as several hits of LSD on postage stamps, a small rock of crack cocaine, or a razor blade. Accordingly, it is not unreasonable to conduct a limited strip search, as Davis performed on Kraushaar, when an officer is trying to recover suspected contraband. 31 The appellant argues that Davis had not observed Kraushaar's conduct for himself and, therefore, Davis's only basis for conducting the search was officer Flanigan's statement that he saw Kraushaar put something down his pants. We find nothing improper in this procedure. The Supreme Court has recognized that officers in one police department may properly arrest a suspect based upon a bulletin or flyer issued by another police department even though the arresting officers themselves were unaware of specific facts that established probable cause for the arrest. United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 229-33, 105 S.Ct. 675, 680-83, 83 L.Ed.2d 604 (1985). It follows that if trooper Flanigan had observed facts that would establish a reasonable suspicion that Kraushaar had been concealing a weapon or contraband, then jailer Davis would be justified in relying on Flanigan's description of those facts; Davis need not have observed the conduct for himself.