WASHINGTON (AFP) — A 13-year-old girl who was strip-searched by school workers hunting for painkillers will have her case heard Tuesday by the Supreme Court.
The court will review whether an Arizona school acted unconstitutionally in searching Savana Redding, now 19, after she was suspected of hiding ibuprofen, a common painkiller.
In October 2003, Redding was told to remove her clothes and partially remove her underwear in the school nurse's office after another pupil accused her of supplying pills. No pills were found during the strip search.
The top court has been asked to decide whether the inspection violated the Constitution's fourth amendment and its safeguards against unwarranted searches, and whether Redding can be awarded damages.
The case was brought by the Arizona school district where the incident took place, after a circuit court ruled that Redding's constitutional rights had been violated.
"The strip search was the most humiliating experience I have ever had," Redding said in a 2004 sworn affidavit.
Redding, who was initially asked to remove her stretch pants and T-shirt, said she was scared during the search, but felt she would be in more trouble if she did not comply.
"They asked me to pull my bra out and to the side and shake it, exposing my breasts.... They also told me to pull the underwear out... exposing my pelvic area," she said in the affidavit.
In a judgement that has the potential for setting a national standard for school officials conducting investigations of students, the court may also be asked to rule on when -- and to what lengths -- pupils suspected of carrying illicit items can be searched.
The Safford Unified School District has argued that staff were justified in ordering the search because another pupil had become ill from taking pills.
The school district's lawyer, Matthew Wright, said the principal had been trying to protect students.
"That was the driving force for him. If nothing had been done, and this happened to another kid, parents would have been outraged.
"If there are drugs and weapons at school, how much do we want to tie the hands of the administrators?"
Redding, speaking Monday on CNN, said the incident proved devastating.
"Before it happened, I loved school, I loved everything about it," she said, adding that she had been an honor-roll student.
"Afterwards, I never wanted to go to school again."
She also spoke out about how such an event could traumatize a child.
"A kid shouldn't have to sit through that alone. I was extremely confused and scared, and I didn't really know what was going on," she said, adding that parents should be informed of such a procedure before it takes place.
Julia Carpenter, a lawyer who filed an amicus curiae -- or friend of the court -- brief in support of Redding, told AFP the school had over-reacted.
According to Carpenter there are situations of "immediate need because of serious safety concerns" that could warrant a strip search, but this was not one.
"There are things that the principal could have done if she presented an immediate risk... holding her in the principal's office or sending her home. They did not do that."
The American Civil Liberties Union, which heads Redding's legal team, has expressed confidence the lower court's ruling will be upheld.
"We are confident that the Supreme Court will recognize that such conduct has no place in America's schools and will protect the privacy rights of America's students," said Steven Shapiro, the organization's legal director.
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