Just heard on NPR that the Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 to allow strip-searches of people arrested for even minor offenses. The case had been brought by a man who was wrongfully arrested, while riding as a passenger in his wife's car that police pulled over, for having an outstanding warrant for a fine that he had in fact paid years earlier. Minor offenses mentioned included having an inoperable headlight, not having an audible bell on a bicycle, and having outstanding parking tickets.
The report noted the number of arrests each year in the United States -- the staggering figure of 13 million. NPR reporter Nina Totenberg also mentioned that police investigators are totally immune from civil suits for giving false testimony in court, and that prosecutors rarely prosecute "their own" police for perjury. A guest quoted on the Supreme Court decision said it was the kind of thing that turns a democracy into a police state.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))