Henry v. Reynolds

A certified class claimed that during 2011 female inmates at an Illinois prison were strip-searched as part of a training exercise for cadet guards; the inmates were required to stand naked, nearly shoulder to shoulder with other inmates in a room where they could be seen by others not conducting the searches, including male officers. Menstruating inmates had to remove their sanitary protection in front of others, were not given replacements, and many got blood on their bodies, clothing, and the floor. The naked inmates had to stand barefoot on a floor dirty with menstrual blood and raise their breasts, lift their hair, turn around, bend over, spread their buttocks and vaginas, and cough. The district court awarded summary judgment to defendants on the 42 U.S.C. 1983 Fourth Amendment theory, because Seventh Circuit precedent holds that a visual inspection of a convicted prisoner is not subject to analysis under that amendment. The jury returned a defense verdict on the Eighth Amendment claim. Because analysis under the Fourth Amendment is objective, while a successful claim under the Eighth Amendment depends on proof of a culpable mental state, the plaintiffs argued on appeal that they could succeed on a Fourth Amendment theory despite the jury’s verdict. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, reasserting that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to visual inspections of prisoners. Their convictions allow wardens to control and monitor prisoners’ lives, extinguishing the rights of secrecy and seclusion. View "Henry v. Reynolds" on Justia Law