Henry v. Hulett

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-prison officials’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiffs-female prisoners’ section 1983 action, alleging that defendants violated their 4^th Amendment rights by conducting group strip search of between 8 to 10 inmates, where said inmates were required to stand naked next to each other, remove their tampons, spread their buttocks, and then stand on floor that was dirtied with menstrual blood. Ct. found that plaintiffs had only potential 8^th Amendment claim and held that Dist. Ct. could properly dismiss plaintiff’s 4^th Amendment claim, since: (1) visual inspections of prisoners are not subject to analysis under 4^th Amendment; and (2) while 4^th Amendment might apply to procedures that entail intrusions into plaintiffs’ bodies, plaintiff failed to show that prison staff touched any inmate during strip search. (Dissent filed.)