Published on: Friday, September 22, 2023
Allegation: Sexagenarian with no criminal record is arrested while riding the bus, for code violations alleged to exist inside his home. (All charges are eventually dropped.) Though his bail has already been paid by the time he arrives at Chemung County, N.Y. jail, officers don't release him for two hours, giving them time to perform an unnecessary strip search in retaliation for his girlfriend "making a real fuss." District court: A two-hour delay does not shock the conscience. Second Circuit: The gratuitous strip search might. Case undismissed!
The case is Murphy v. Hughson, 21-2998 (2d Cir. Sept. 21, 2023).