Audio By Carbonatix
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office experienced another newspaper to the nose yesterday when the United States Supreme Court declined to hear a case where a lower court ruled against it in a lawsuit regarding cross-gender jail pat-downs.
For many heterosexual, male inmates, a female detention officer grabbing their junk might be slightly less uncomfortable than allowing a male guard do it. It might, in some cases, be the highlight of his day.
However, it wasn’t for former MCSO inmate Charles Byrd. He claims a 2004, somewhat-nude strip search — during which a female MCSO detention officer cadet grabbed his butt and penis — violated his Fourth Amendment right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 6-5 in favor of Byrd in the case — but only after a jury in a lower court determined Byrd’s rights had not been violated.
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