Can strip-searching citizens for almost
any reason
be an acceptable part of living in a ‘free’ country?
U.S. Supreme Court Stands Up for Laying Citizens ‘Bare’ (Le Figaro,
France)
“Such a loose conception of freedom is difficult to grasp. … A government that can undress its citizens for not
wearing a seatbelt has license to undress whoever it chooses. And to think that
conservatives supposedly stand for a less intrusive government. It seems that,
in fact, their idea is of a government that intrudes less into the pockets of
the wealthiest. That is their notion of democracy.”
What is so nice about the current Supreme Court, the most
militant court in more than half a century, is that it opposes the expansion of
federal powers when it works in the government's favor, but accepts
expansion when it works in favor of citizens. For instance: the court has decided
that contributions by corporations and lobbyists cannot be limited because it
considers this an expression of free speech, and thus protected under the First
Amendment. The result is a presidential campaign that will break all records in
terms of financial debauchery, with several billionaires funding absolutely ludicrous
candidates. Another example is that the court may soon decide that the state cannot
compel citizens to have health coverage.
But when it comes to humiliating
citizens in violation of the Constitution (the Fourth Amendment), the Supreme
Court has responded to the call.
By a five to four vote, conservative judges on the Supreme
Court decided that any citizen can be forced to permit a strip search, even in
the case of a minor offense - and even if there is no reason to suspect a
felony or crime. Henceforth, explained one of the dissenting judges, a bike
with a faulty bell or broken turn signal can lead to the offender being strip
searched. The Supreme Court held that there is nothing excessive or degrading
about being forced to lay bare before a representative of the state. Such a loose
conception of freedom is difficult to grasp. Up to now, case law dictated that police
were only permitted to conduct a body search when, for example, there is cause
to suspect the person of hiding weapons or drugs. Ten states, including Florida
and Michigan (not exactly bastions of leftism), forbid strip searches without
serious cause.
For the U.S. Supreme Court, the humiliation of a citizen by
the government (and what situation is more humiliating for a person than to be
obliged to undress in front of a representative of the state? This resembles
pre-Kruschev KGB tactics) is just a peccadillo. A
government that can undress its citizens for not wearing a seatbelt has license
to undress whoever it chooses. And to think that conservatives supposedly stand
for a less intrusive government. It seems that, in fact, their idea is of a
government that intrudes less into the pockets of the wealthiest. That is their
notion of democracy.
