In a precedential opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that a Delaware prison’s blanket policy of conducting thrice-daily visual cavity searches of inmates held in isolation violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
In so ruling, the Third Circuit joined at least eight other Courts of Appeals, which have concluded that the Fourth Amendment applies, in a narrow context, to bodily searches in prison. The three-judge panel said that the numerous and intrusive examinations unreasonably infringed on prisoners’ limited right to privacy.
