Judgment Day

Courtesy of How Appealing:

Today's ruling, by a unanimous three-judge Eighth Circuit panel, addresses "whether Arkansas law permits a police officer to arrest a person for refusing to identify himself when he is not suspected of other criminal activity and his identification is not needed to protect officer safety or to resolve whatever reasonable suspicions prompted the officer to initiate an on-going traffic stop or Terry stop."

The New York Court of Appeals decided People v. Hall on Tuesday and held that police can strip-search someone under arrest and look inside his or her body cavities without a warrant, provided they have reason to suspect evidence is concealed in a cavity. Police cannot, however, physically search a cavity without getting a court warrant.

Judge Graffeo wrote for the majority:

We conclude that a visual body inspection may be conducted if the police have a factual basis supporting a reasonable suspicion that the arrestee has evidence concealed inside a body cavity and the search is conducted in a reasonable manner.  There must be particular, individualized facts known to the police that justify subjecting an arrestee to these procedures.

Slip opinion for People v. Hall is here.