Welcome to the new United States. Where police can mace people, arrest unconstitutionally, and beat protesters to no end with little or no punishment. And now, thanks to the corporate run Supreme Court, they can strip search anyone at any time for any reason. That’s right people, the Supreme Court ruled that police can strip search anyone for any offense no matter how minor before going to jail. Of course, this ruling is simply a continuation of the attack on women. It is no secret that, predominantly women (although sometimes men), are raped, groped, and ogled, quite a bit in jail. Some states, for this reason, require only female officers in female wings and only male officers in male wings. Justice Stephen G Breyer, who was one of the four justices to vote against the ruling said that the searches were ““a serious affront to human dignity and to individual privacy” and that they should only be conducted with a good reason to do so.

But Justice Anthony M Kennedy had a different view in the matter. He said that “maintaining safety and order at detention centers requires the expertise of correctional officials, who must have substantial discretion to devise reasonable solutions to problems.” Basically what this means is that simply because a person is a correctional officer, which in many states does not even require an oath, that they should be able to tell who to strip search and who not to. The searches, of course, are humiliating and embarrassing to anyone who may undergo them. The reason we have protections in place against unreasonable searches is that people cannot all be expected to act as they should. Nonetheless, the court ruled that something as small as failing to leash a dog could result in a strip search.

This ruling is especially sickening given the history of police misconduct as of late. At Occupy sites scores of peaceful protesters have been beat, maced, and shot at for simply petitioning their government. In Wisconsin, I have been arrested over 31 times, including one that has left my neck damaged and in pain for five months and counting. This was inflicted by the State Patrol. Many others have continued being unconstitutionally arrested every Assembly or Senate session for silently holding a sign or filming. I would like to note that the only justification that can be provided is “because I said so,” a line so often abused. I was even put on the “no-fly” list for political activism. But this ruling, in my opinion, completely trashes the Fourth Amendment. The reason we have this Amendment is because officers cannot be trusted to always do what they are supposed to. A couple bad officers can ruin an entire department’s image. Unfortunately, with this ruling, any officer can strip search any individual for any or no reason at all. We are left with one option, to continue fighting this corporate/fascist takeover of our country. One day longer! One day stronger!

Jeremy Ryan

Executive Director

Defending Wisconsin PAC

jryan@defendingwisconsin.org

[Editor's Note: Donations made through this post go to the author, not the website]

Note: Segway Jeremy Ryan has become a full-time member of the protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Formerly a businessman, he gave up his business to join the fight for the middle class in the State of Wisconsin. Through videos and writings he has informed hundreds of thousands of people about what was going on at the Wisconsin State Capitol once the mainstream media had mostly abandoned the protests. His full-time activism is completely funded by the people. If you would like to help out please click here.

Related posts: