From Restore the Fourth:
Dear Friend,
Being “secure in our persons”, as the Fourth Amendment puts it, means in part being free of unreasonable government intrusion on your body.
We’re now involved in a case called Brown v. Polk County, which highlights how important this right is. We’re asking you to give to help support this fight and others that protect your rights.
Sharon Brown was charged with shoplifting, and held before trial without bail at Wisconsin’s Polk County Jail. Jail officials heard a baseless rumor that Ms. Brown was carrying drugs, and used that to justify an invasive body-cavity search carried out by a doctor and nurse at a local hospital. After her ordeal found nothing, Ms. Brown testified that she “cried while getting dressed, cried all the way back to the jail, and cried herself to sleep,” and that the search had left her with lasting depression, anxiety, and trauma.
We’re joining the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in an amicus brief in this case, to argue that the jail’s criterion of “reasonable suspicion” for such a search is not enough, and that the proper Constitutional standard should be “probable cause.” If Ms. Brown’s appeal fails, our protections against cruel and invasive searches will be weaker, and searches like this will become more common.
Please consider donating to RT4 so we can continue to fight to restore and protect your 4th Amendment rights. It costs around $2,500 to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court. A donation of only $20 by March 15 gives you the right to vote in our Board elections, and pays for an hour of our lone staff member's time. If you set up a recurring donation today, of only $5 per month, you can help us help more people like Ms. Brown, who are fighting to preserve the dignity and bodily autonomy that make every life worth living.
Thank you so much for your continued support.
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