Greedy Trial Lawyer
Were Body Cavities Included In The Illegal Strip Searches?
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It must have been quite exhilarating for the jailers in New York to illegally strip search thousands of inmates charged with misdemeanors. At least the arresting officers didn't do it at the scene of the arrest.
Jail stripped of search rights
A new federal appeals court decision could open the door for thousands of people who were strip-searched at the Nassau County jail between 1996 and 1999 to sue the county for damages.The ruling by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could expose the county to tens of millions of dollars in damages, a plaintiffs' lawyer said. The ruling says that the county should be held liable for illegally strip-searching anyone who was brought to the jail during that time on misdemeanor charges, and grants those people class-action status for liability.
The county has conceded for years that it was wrong to strip-search people who were not accused of felonies, and correction officers stopped doing it in 1999, County Attorney Lorna Goodman said.
"A strip search where someone is buck naked is one of the most degrading experiences a person can go through," said Robert L. Herbst of Manhattan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. "When someone has to go through that because of a policy that the county knew was unlawful, that's a disgrace."
The appeals court has sent the case back to an Eastern District judge, who will next decide whether potential plaintiffs should be treated as a class when it comes to awarding them damages.
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