The Court of Appeals just decided State v. Battle, a case about roadside strip searches. It's an important case for judges, lawyers, and especially officers. A confidential and reliable informant told police that Battle, her boyfriend, and another man would be going to Durham to buy cocaine, and returning by a specific route in a specific vehicle. Several officers set up along the predicted route, and soon saw the threesome motoring along. They had probable cause to arrest Battle's boyfriend for a prior drug offense, so they stopped the car and arrested the boyfriend, who was driving. As he exited the vehicle, the officers noticed many small ziploc bags in the driver's side door. The officers searched the boyfriend and found nothing. They also searched the male passenger and found nothing. A female officer then searched Battle. Apparently in anticipation of an intrusive search, the officer asked Battle to stand between the opened front and rear passenger doors of the officers' SUV, and between the body of the SUV and the officer. The officer did a pat-down and found nothing. She asked Battle to pull her bra away from her body and shake the bra; the evidence is conflicting about whether rolling papers fell out of her bra. The officer then opened the front of Battle's pants, and pulled her underwear away from her body. The officer was able to see Battle's buttocks and the top of her pubic hair. This revealed a crack pipe and a folded five-dollar bill, inside [...]
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