SUPREME COURT DECISION MAY PAVE WAY TO REOPEN STRIP-SEARCH CASE

Lawyer: Toronto Case Could Be Good News For Halifax Women Searched At Rave

Two young Halifax women who were strip-searched at a Halifax rave nearly a
year ago might have a shot at reopening their complaint against local cops,
thanks to the country's top court.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled police had no automatic
right to strip-search a Toronto drug dealer who was hiding cocaine in his
buttocks, even though they had watched two drug transactions before
arresting him.

The 5-4 decision may be good news for Aimee Kindervater and Aleashia
Stanley, rave workers who were strip-searched last year.

The two lost a complaint to the Nova Scotia Police Commission in October.
But their lawyer, Walter Thompson, said the Supreme Court of Canada's new
decision may give him grounds to have that decision overturned.

"Aleashia and Aimee were just working the joint when the police arrived.
Here's a guy and they've all but got him cold, with cocaine , and the
Supreme Court of Canada is saying 'No,'" Thompson said.

"To me, it just shows how completely the police commission missed the boat."

Stanley, then 17, and Kindervater, then 23, were working at a Maitland
Street dance club called The Underground on Jan. 29, 2000, when police
arrived with a tip that the building's owner had hidden drugs in the
ceiling tiles.

They were among several women asked to remove jackets, pants, shoes and
underwear in a washroom as police searched them for drugs. No charges were
ever laid.

Thompson said police arguably had more right to strip-search Golden than
Kindervater and Stanley, who were searched as part of a search warrant
rather than being specifically arrested.

He said he'll have to talk to the two women to see if they want him to take
their complaint to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

It may be that the top-court decision will ensure no one in Kindervater and
Stanley's place will face a similar search in the future, Thompson said.

Halifax Regional Police will look for a legal opinion on what proper
procedure for strip searches should be, said spokeswoman Sgt. Brenda Zima.

"We really don't know how it's going to affect us," Zima said.

"We have to look at the decision thoroughly, look at every piece of it."