Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders and strip search rights

¶ … long-term impact of Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders. This will be accomplished by: studying the parties involved, discussing the facts of the case, identifying the constitutional issues, examining the decision in terms of the vote, the opinion of the court, the dissenting views and the significance of the case. Once this takes place, is when we can provide specific insights that will illustrate how this will affect the way law enforcement is interacting with prisoners.

In criminal law, there are those decisions that will have a dramatic impact upon the way law enforcement is interacting with suspects. Sometimes, there are certain cases that will give the police the power to use greater amounts of authority. When this happens, there is a transformation in how different constitutional ideas are interpreted and utilized.

A recent example of this can be seen by looking no further than the Supreme Court case Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders. This is focusing on the rights of law enforcement officials to strip search criminal suspects they have in custody. To fully understand the implications of this case requires: studying the parties involved, discussing the facts of the case, identifying the constitutional issues, examining the decision in terms of the vote, the opinion of the court, the dissenting views and the significance of the case. Together, these elements will highlight the long-term implications of this decision. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)

Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders (10-945)

The Parties Involved

This case involves the plaintiff (Albert Florence) alleging that the Burlington County Jail and Essex Correctional Facility violated his constitutional rights based upon two strip searches. What happened is Florence was arrested in March 2005 on a bench warrant out of Essex County. This was for a delinquent fine that he had paid two days earlier. Yet, the records were not updated to reflect these changes. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)

As a result, Florence was arrested and taken to the Burlington Country Jail. This is when he was subject to the first strip search. Once he was transferred to the Essex Correctional Facility, is the point that was forced to go through a second strip search. These tactics were a part of the approved policies and procedures for the Board of Chosen Freeholders (who controlled both facilities). They are the defendant in the case. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)

Identify the constitutional issues in the case?

The biggest Constitutional issue is the legality of the searches under the Fourth Amendment. This is challenging, with many civil rights groups arguing that searches involving: metal detectors, pat downs and inspection of the rooms will provide more security. While law enforcement and prison officials are claiming, that a visual inspection of the prisoner is required. This is because there will be areas that cannot be seen using other techniques. When officers are allowed to conduct a strip search, they can physically check for any dangerous items or contra band. The biggest issues are how and when these kinds of polices apply. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)

State the decision of the case in terms of the vote

This is considered to be a split decision with five Justices voting in favor of the legality of the policy. While there were a total of four Justices who believed it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)

Evaluate the rationale of the opinion of the court

The majority of the court thinks that when someone is arrested, they are no longer entitled to a certain degree of privacy. This is because of the concerns over: the safety of others and the general public outweighs these claims. Moreover, when someone is arrested they are grouped together with other prisoners. This makes it easier for the administration to control and monitor the population. As a result, a strip search is considered to be appropriate based upon the assumption that all detainees will lose this protection once they are arrested. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)

Recognize any dissenting opinions

There were four Justices who believed that applying this kind of policy to everyone is allowing law enforcement to continually violate the Fourth Amendment. This is because anyone arrested for the smallest infraction will be forced to go through this kind of search (despite the fact that they are not a major threat). These issues are troubling, as the more liberal Justices think that there needs to be classifications based upon the offense. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)

Evaluate the case's significance.

The significance of the case is that the police will be able to search any criminal suspect. In the future, this will increase the protections provided to law enforcement officers (who are controlling large groups of prisoners). However, there is also the possibility for abuses with some officials taking more liberal interpretations. These elements are showing how the case will have a lasting impact on the rights defendants and the tactics utilized by corrections officers. ("Florence v. The Board of Chosen Freeholders," 2011)