In 1987, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the Jefferson County Jail, its director, and the county in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Plaintiff, represented by private counsel, alleged that Defendants' blanket policy of strip-searching pretrial detainees without reasonable suspicion was unconstitutional.

Plaintiff was arrested for menacing, a misdemeanor. Plaintiff waited in a holding cell in the Jefferson County Jail for his lawyer to post his bond. However, the cell filled up and Plaintiff was strip-searched and moved to general population.

The District Court (Judge Edward H. Johnstone) found that the constitutionality of Jefferson County's strip search policy had been settled in Tate v. Frey, No. 75-0031(A) (JC-KY-1) and denied Plaintiff's motions for declaratory judgment, summary judgment, and directed verdict. The jury found for Defendants. Plaintiff appealed.

On July 13, 1987, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (Judges Danny J. Boggs, Pierce Lively and Anthony J. Celebrezze) affirmed. The Court held that Plaintiff's strip-search did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights because (1) he was arrested for menacing, a class B misdemeanor, (2) Plaintiff was not searched until he was about to be moved into general population, (3) Plaintiff's strip-search was visual and according to jail policy, (4) the District Court had approved Defendants' search policy in Tate v. Frey (JC-KY-1). Dobrowolskyj v. Jefferson County, KY, 823 F.2d 955 (6th Cir. 1987).

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied rehearing on August 17, 1987.

On February 22, 1988, the United States Supreme Court denied Plaintiff's petition for writ of certiorari. Dobrowolskyj v. Jefferson County, Kentucky, 484 U.S. 1059 (1988).

Shira Gordon - 03/17/2012


compress summary