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26 U.S.F. L. Rev. 1 (1991-1992)
The Strip Search of Children and the Fourth Amendment

handle is hein.journals/usflr26 and id is 13 raw text is: Articles The Strip Search of Children and the Fourth Amendment By STEVEN F. SHATZ, MOLLY DONOVAN, AND JEANNE HONG* Introduction A STRIP SEARCH refers to the visual inspection of an individual's body, including those portions usually hidden by undergarments. One Supreme Court Justice has characterized the strip search as perhaps the greatest personal indignity officials can visit on an individual.1 When performed by law enforcement officers, a strip search generally takes the form of a visual body cavity search. The officer who conducted the visual body cavity search in Basurto v. McCarthy2 described it as follows: After they're standing in front of me with no clothing, first they check their head. They bend down and shake their head, go through their hair with their fingers, check their ears, back and inside of their ears, check inside the eyelids, on the bottom of the eyelids, check their nose, inside their mouth, under the tongue, sideways and the tongue. Then * Steven F. Shatz received his J.D. in 1969 from Harvard University and is presently the Philip and Muriel Barnett Professor of Trial Advocacy at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Molly Donovan received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco in 1991. Jeanne Hong received her J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco in 1991. The authors' interest in the topic of the strip search of children was sparked by a case Professor Shatz handled with students of the U.S.F. Law Clinic. In Basurto v. McCarthy, No. Civ. S 86-1457 EJG (E.D. Cal. filed Dec. 15, 1986), the Clinic represented a boy (E.B.) and a girl (C.B.) - nine and ten years old respectively at the time of the search - who were strip searched without their consent when they visited a prison with their adult half-sister. Although prison officials had no information to suggest that the children possessed contra- band, the officials (allegedly acting with the sister's permission) subjected the children to a strip search for contraband. The strip search was conducted by two female guards, who searched each child in the presence of the other and the sister. As a result of the suit, the California Department of Corrections revised its policy on strip searches to meet many of the objections raised to the searches. See Instructional Memo # 1 - Op. # 106, issued May 1, 1987. Shortly before trial, the suit settled with each plaintiff receiving a structured settlement plus attorney's fees and costs. 1. Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 594 (1979) (Stevens, J., dissenting). 2. See Basurto, No. Civ. S 86-1457 EJG.

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