Strip Searches by Law Enforcement Officers (Part I)

This blog post is divided in two parts. This is Part I. Part II will be posted tomorrow. Introduction. These posts will discuss strip searches by law enforcement officers that usually occur during investigative stops, frisks, arrests, executing search warrants, and related actions. These posts will not include strip searches at jails, which are discussed here by Jamie Markham. Unlike other Fourth Amendment issues, there have been relatively few appellate rulings on the lawfulness of strip searches by law enforcement officers. Although the United States Supreme Court has ruled on strip searches in jails and schools (see the citations and links to Florence and Safford below), it has not done so with searches by officers, although it once commented in a case involving an unrelated issue that “the interests supporting a search incident to arrest would hardly justify disrobing an arrestee on the street.” Illinois v. Lafayette, 462 U.S. 640, 645 (1983). Fortunately, there have been several North Carolina cases that offer guidance to officers concerning the legality of these searches. Officers who are unsure about these searches may wish to consult their agency’s legal advisor or other legal resource, particularly because their agency may impose stricter standards in conducting them than permitted by case law. Definition of strip search. What constitutes a “strip search”? Interestingly, there has not been a precise definition set out by the United States Supreme Court or North Carolina appellate courts. The United States Supreme Court noted in the jail search case of Florence v. Board [...]