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Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington

Location: New Jersey
Court Type: U.S. Supreme Court
Status: Closed (Judgment)
Last Update: June 27, 2011

What's at Stake

Whether a jail policy of strip searching every new detainee violates the Fourth Amendment.

The question in this case is whether a jail may institute a policy of strip searching every new detainee regardless of the reason for the detention. In an amicus brief submitted on behalf of five former New Jersey Attorneys General, the ACLU argues that such strip searches violate New Jersey law and the Fourth Amendment in the absence of reasonable suspicion. As the brief explains, strip searches are uniquely intrusive and a blanket policy of strip searching every detainee is unnecessary to maintain jail security.

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