A federal judge has found New York City liable for automatically strip-searching inmates at Rikers Island and other city jails who have been arrested for misdemeanor drug and weapons charges.
In McBean v. City of New York, 02 Civ. 5426, Southern District Judge Gerard Lynch yesterday granted summary judgment to a class of jailed defendants. They claim the city violated the U.S. Constitution by conducting the searches without reasonable suspicion that the arrested, but not convicted, individuals were concealing contraband as they entered the jails.
