Safford Unified School District v. Redding

Safford Unified School District v. Redding
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 21, 2009 Decided June 25, 2009
Full case name	Safford Unified School District #1, et al. v. April Redding
Docket nos.	08-479
Citations	557 U.S. 364 (more) 129 S.Ct. 2633, 174 L.Ed.2d 354, 77 USLW 4591, 245 Ed. Law Rep. 626, 09 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7974, 2009 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9383, 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 1011
Argument	Oral argument
Holding
Search violated the Fourth Amendment.
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority	Souter, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, Alito; Stevens, Ginsburg (parts I–III)
Concur/dissent	Stevens, joined by Ginsburg
Concur/dissent	Ginsburg
Concur/dissent	Thomas

Safford Unified School District v. Redding, 557 U.S. 364 (2009), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a strip search of a middle schooler violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution where the school lacked reasons to suspect either that the drugs (Ibuprofen) presented a danger or that they were concealed in her underwear. The court also held, however, that because this was not clearly established law prior to the court's decision, the officials involved were shielded from liability by qualified immunity.

Officials at Safford Middle School in Safford, Arizona received a report that 13-year-old Savana Redding had given a classmate four prescription-strength 400 mg ibuprofen and a 200 mg over-the-counter naproxen. Based on this suspicion, they first searched her belongings; then, believing that "students ... hid contraband in or under their clothing," had her strip to her underwear, "pull her bra out and to the side and shake it," and "pull out the elastic on her underpants" to see what might fall out. The officials did not find any contraband on Redding's person, and they did not contact Redding's parents at any point during the investigation.

Safford School District, like many school districts, has a policy strictly prohibiting the use, possession, or sale of any drug on school grounds, including prescription drugs, without advanced administrative permission. A week before Savana was searched, a student reported to the school’s vice principal, Kerry Wilson, that students were bringing drugs onto campus, and, furthermore, the student reported becoming sick after taking pills obtained from a classmate. On the day of Savana’s search, the same student turned a white pill over to Mr. Wilson. The pill was later identified as a form of prescription ibuprofen. The student claimed that Marissa Glines had given him the pills. He also reported that he attended a party at Savana’s house at which alcohol was served to his peers.