On the heels of its surprise upholding of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court has now ruled, 8-1, that Safford, Arizona, middle school officials broke the law when they strip-searched a 13-year-old girl, Savana Redding, because they suspected she was carrying ibuprofen. Retiring Justice David Souter, who seemed somewhat skeptical of the plaintiff's position during arguments, actually authored the decision, writing:
What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear.
The caveat is that seven of the nine justice agreed that the man who authorized the strip search, vice principal Kerry Wilson, cannot be held financially liable for his actions. The Court's most liberal members, John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, disagreed, writing, "Wilson's treatment of Redding was abusive and it was not reasonable for him to believe that the law permitted it."
This ruling further cements that Supeme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will not significantly tilt the Court to the left, despite the wailing of conservatives. Sotomayor has ruled against school strip searches in the past. Now we know that the man who she will replace on the court, David Souter, feels the same way.
--Dana Goldstein
