SUPREME COURT SAYS SCHOOL STRIP SEARCH OF STUDENT WRONG

Safford Middle School officials violated the constitutional rights of
Savana Redding when they strip-searched her Oct. 8, 2003, while
looking for ibuprofen pills, the United States Supreme Court decided
June 25.

"It was a big relief," Redding said in a phone interview. "I'm really
happy about the fact that it's less likely to happen to anyone else
(because of the Supreme Court decision)."

At issue was the right of school officials to strip-search a student
in an attempt to find contraband. Redding alleged her constitutional
rights were violated and sued the school district. The Safford School
District contended it had a right to strip-search students.

Redding, then a 13-year-old student, was taken to the school office
and subjected to the strip search after a classmate told Assistant
Principal Kerry Wilson that she obtained a prescription-strength
ibuprofen pill from Redding.

Ibuprofen is a non-narcotic pain reliever that comes in prescription
and over-the-counter doses. It is sold under the the brand names of
Advil and Motrin.

In an 8-1 decision, the high court determined that SMS Assistant
Principal Kerry Wilson had no reason to suspect Redding concealed
drugs in her undergarments when he ordered the school nurse and an
administrative assistant -- both women -- to conduct the search.

Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenting justice of the court's
nine-member panel.

"The Supreme Court saw this exactly as the public did," said Adam
Wolf, the American Civil Liberties Union attorney who argued Redding's
case before the Supreme Court. "Eight of the nine justices had no
problem coming to the same conclusion as the public."

Wolf added that the court's decision "will protect the well-being and
constitutional rights of schoolchildren."

He added that children who find themselves in a situation similar to
Redding's -- being forced to comply with a strip search -- will have
legal recourse.

The Supreme Court also ruled that Wilson, the nurse and the
administrative assistant were immune from liability because there was
no clear legal precedent established that a strip search of a child,
based on little evidence, was wrong.

"It should have been set six years ago. The Supreme Court decision
makes it wrong," Wolf said.

Still at issue is the school district's liability. The Supreme Court
remanded that determination to a lower court.

Safford School District Superintendent Mark Tregaskes said he could
not comment because part of the Supreme Court decision was remanded.
As for the remainder, Tregaskes said he could not comment because he
had not read the entire decision.

Safford Middle School Principal Clay Emery, who was not the principal
at the time of the Redding incident, said he hopes the school can
begin to heal.

"In the interest of our school and community, I hope this can be put
behind us," Emery said. "I feel for everyone involved in this issue.
There are so many good things happening at Safford Middle School -- I
hope this doesn't leave a scar."

The decision, however, does not erase the trauma of the search.
Redding says she suffered several long-term repercussions from the
incident, including stomach ulcers and a tendency to become ill at
school.

"I didn't want to go to school at all," Redding said. "It's something
that's pretty hard not to think about."

Although her family was supportive, Redding had to receive counseling.
When she learned that the nurse who participated in the search was
assigned to her high school, she left school to go home when she
became ill instead of going to the nurse's office.

Eventually, Redding dropped out of school and took a placement test at
Eastern Arizona College, where she is working on her general education
diploma.

As Redding struggled to complete her education, her complaint against
the School District slowly wound its way through the federal court
system.

In a July 11, 2008, ruling, an 11-judge panel of the Ninth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Safford Middle School
officials violated Red-ding's Fourth Amendment rights when they forced
her to strip to her underwear in search of ibuprofen tablets. This
ruling came nine months after a Sept. 21, 2007, decision by the
appellate court's three-judge panel that ruled in favor of the School
District. The 2007 ruling upheld a federal district court's summary
judgement that Wilson, the nurse and the administrative assistant did
not violate the girl's Fourth Amendment rights.

The Safford School District appealed the appellate court's 2008
decision in Redding's favor to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court
heard the appeal in April.