Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Oregon

forced search

my boyfriend was pulled over a for traffic violation, then placed under arrest for failure to carry ID. when taken to county to only be finger printed,he was asked to strip for search. as he knows the search cannot be forced. should he have beeen aware of his Miranda rights? He continuously refused to strip but the custody officer kept trying to talk him into it. Before he complyed he asked what his rights were and was denied any. he was then taken to jail. What can he do about this, please anything helps. Thank you.


Asked on 7/27/06, 4:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: forced search

Miranda has nothing to do with being searched. It applies only when the police question a person who is in custody, but you haven't said anything about police questioning. If all they did was search him then it doesn't matter that they didn't read him his rights.

You say your boyfriend "knows" he cannot be strip searched against his will, but that is not necessarily true. Police can conduct such a search if they have reason to believe a detainee is concealing a weapon, drugs or other contraband on his person. This is true even of the reason the police initially stopped him had nothing to do with such items. Based upon the limited information you have provided I can't say whether such a search was justified here.

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Answered on 7/27/06, 5:06 pm


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