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Unconstitutional Police Department Strip Search Practices May Be Widespread

November 1, 2005

For further inquiries about unconstitutional strip-searches, feel free to contact Vincent J. Moccio at 1.800.553-9910 or to send them an e-mail by clicking on this link: contact us.

It appears that many County Jails have policies requiring that all arrested persons be strip-searched regardless of the particular offense for which they were arrested. Such strip-searches have been declared unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Across the country, several class action lawsuits regarding these kinds of strip-searches have been settled in the past several years. Two such settlements have been reached by Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. in cases involving jails in Minnesota's Twin Cities area.  In 2004, a class settlement of $7,000,000 was reached with St. Croix County, Wisconsin, stemming from illegal strip searches at the County Jail in Hudson, Wisconsin.  In 2005, a class settlement of $2,000,000 was reached with Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, stemming from illegal strip searches at the County Jail in Milaca, Minnesota.  Vince J. Moccio, a partner at  Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., was appointed class counsel in both cases and continues to investigate occurrences of this unconstitutional behavior.

Our offices have been, and continue to be, involved in and committed to the representation of victims of these unconstitutional strip-searches. If, in conjunction with being arrested, you have been strip-searched before being convicted of a crime, please feel free to contact our offices for further information concerning this issue.

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The articles on our Web site include some of the publications and papers authored by our attorneys, both before and after they joined our firm. The content of these articles should not be taken as legal advice or as an expression of the views of the firm, its attorneys or any of its clients. We hope the articles spur discussion in the legal community with insight into the experience of the authors. We expressly reserve the right in the future to become wiser or simply change our mind.

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