On April 2, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution did not prohibit jail authorities from performing strip searches of all incoming inmates, regardless of whether the inmate was being held on a minor crime. The facts underlying that decision, as reported in numerous news outlets such as the New York Times, involved the arrest of Albert Florence, who was a passenger in his wife's car when she was pulled over in New Jersey for speeding. When a record search was performed, the computer inaccurately reported there was an arrest warrant for Mr. Florence because of an unpaid fine (the fine actually had been paid years earlier). Mr. Florence was then arrested and held for one week in two separate jail facilities, being strip searched in both when he was admitted. Mr. Florence then sued, claiming a violation of his right under the 4th Amendment to be free from unreasonable searches.
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