No. 20-982October Term 2020Decided Apr 19, 2021Updated Apr 19, 2021
Brown v. Polk County
This case asks whether jail officials violated the Fourth Amendment by performing a physical, penetrative search of a pretrial detainee’s vagina and/or anus after she was jailed on a minor offense.
Case status
Decided · April 19, 2021
Read the opinion (PDF)- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Apr 19, 2021
- What it's about
This case asks whether jail officials violated the Fourth Amendment by performing a physical, penetrative search of a pretrial detainee’s vagina and/or anus after she was jailed on a minor offense. The Seventh Circuit allowed the search based on mere reasonable suspicion, and the petitioner argues that such an invasive search should require stronger legal justification.
Question presented
Did the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals correctly conclude that the constitutional standard for conducting a manual cavity search of a pretrial detainee was reasonable suspicion based on prior precedent from the United States Supreme Court and other Courts of Appeals?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit / Decision released Apr 19, 2021
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Timing
Decided April 19, 2021
The Court released its decision on April 19, 2021 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity2
Opinion added: Opinion
Apr 19, 2021 | Court records
Brief added: Petition
Jan 15, 2021 | Court records
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Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology