Supreme Court Finds Bounds of Reason. I am Shocked.

[Zack]

Quayle had an opinion on something?

Yes, on the spelling of "potato."

 

[MobBoss]

Trying to label a girl a pusher who gave another girl Advil for the cramps is like invading the wrong country after a terrorist attack. Who would be dumb enough to do that?

Afghanistan was the wrong country?

I mean who could be dumb enough to forget that?

 

[Formaldehyde]

Jesus Christ what kind of world does Clarence Thomas want us to live in? I understand the "this decision tells criminals how to act" argument, but kids smuggling drugs in their underwear? Schools should be able to strip search children? Together with his opinions on the Presidency (an elected king, essentially), one gets the idea that he'd rather be a subject than a citizen.

Cleo

You should really look into excommunicating him from the black race.

 

[GoodGame]

Because (two) advil tablets have a history of killing children.

Actually that's out of context, because Justice Souter was saying the reasonable suspicion of the case was unreasonable. He's quoted as saying two aspirin isn't grounds for a strip search.

 

[Neonanocyborgasm]

I'm still amused they were searching for Advil.

 

[choxorn]

Wait, Supreme Court Justices with common sense? WTH???

Seriously, strip-searching 13-year-olds isn't right, unless you've got some pretty damn good evidence they might have something dangerous in their underwear.

 

[JollyRoger]

Maybe Anita Hill was on to something.

 

[amadeus]

Trying to label a girl a pusher who gave another girl Advil for the cramps is like invading the wrong country after a terrorist attack. Who would be dumb enough to do that?

The girl appeared to have had some issues with this before, such as hosting a party where hard liquor was served and had distributed pills to students on campus before. As well, school officials noted that a student was hospitalized after receiving prescription pills from another classmate.

Excluding the search of her breasts and pelvic area, those all sound like legitimate concerns on the part of the school administrators.

 

[downtown]

^Where did you hear that? Everything I read indicated there was no probable cause.

 

[amadeus]

^Where did you hear that? Everything I read indicated there was no probable cause.

It was all in the opinion of Justice Thomas.

Link

 

[Steph]

Seriously, strip-searching 13-year-olds isn't right, unless you've got some pretty damn good evidence they might have something dangerous in their underwear.

Hmmm... At what age does what a girl has in her underwear start to be dangerous for the mental sanity of boys around?

 

[Masada]

The girl appeared to have had some issues with this before, such as hosting a party where hard liquor was served and had distributed pills to students on campus before. As well, school officials noted that a student was hospitalized after receiving prescription pills from another classmate.

... they would have had to have strip-searched most of my student cohort if that was the case. I also don't see the issue, the school didn't have a duty of care.

 

[Mise]

I guess this is an interesting conundrum for reactionary Middle America soccer moms. On the one hand, we must protect our children from drugs, guns and alcohol. On the other hand, we must protect our children from paedophiles. I guess the terrorists have won.

 

[oagersnap]

"Redding would not have been the first person to conceal pills in her undergarments," [Thomas] said. "Nor will she be the last after today's decision, which announces the safest place to secrete contraband in school."

Did anyone notice how Thomas almost makes it sound like the girl was guilty?

 

[Aegis]

Actually that's out of context, because Justice Souter was saying the reasonable suspicion of the case was unreasonable. He's quoted as saying two aspirin isn't grounds for a strip search.

It's not out of context. He's just contradicting himself is all.

Justice Souter may have summarized the mood of the court near the end of the argument in the case, Safford Unified School District v. Redding, No. 08-479. Several justices appeared troubled by the search, but also seemed loath to second-guess school officials confronted with a variety of dangerous substances.

“My thought process,” Justice Souter said, “is I would rather have the kid embarrassed by a strip search, if we can’t find anything short of that, than to have some other kids dead because the stuff is distributed at lunchtime and things go awry.”

 

[Cutlass]

Did anyone notice how Thomas almost makes it sound like the girl was guilty?

To him she probably was. There are people who believe that the fact that someone was accused is proof of guilt.

 

[JollyRoger]

Did anyone notice how Thomas almost makes it sound like the girl was guilty?

Well, they didn't conduct a cavity search, which I'm sure is where Thomas thinks the drugs were. After all, that is where he pulls some of his opinions from.

 

[I'm Cleo!]

Well, they didn't conduct a cavity search, which I'm sure is where Thomas thinks the drugs were. After all, that is where he pulls some of his opinions from.

That's what struck me as I read his opinion: what about a cavity search? There's nothing in there (no pun intended) to suggest that a cavity search would have been unreasonable.

Shorter Justice Thomas:

"There are rules, people!"

Cleo

 

[Lord Parkin]

Wow. I cannot believe that anyone would ever be permitted to strip search young kids over such a trivial matter. Whether she had the two pills or not is irrelevant - geez, talk about a completely unwarranted invasion of privacy.

If this sort of thing was actually made legal, isn't it obvious how easily it could be abused by those in positions of authority?

 

[jessiecat]

Maybe I've missed something in the last 3 pages of posts. Adfil is a tradename for ibroprofen, a mild pain-killer available anywhere without prescription. Here its called Nurofen. Why would school officials care whether she had it not? Would they feel the same about aspirin, paracetamol or vitamin pills?
And if it was dangerous or illegal how would they even know she had some hidden about her person? Ordinary school officials can't strip-search anybody anyway. They would have to call the police to get that done. The story makes absolutely no sense.