CRIMINAL RIGHTS - IMPORTANT NOTICE - NASSAU COUNTY

A notice appeared yesterday to all persons arrested for misdemeanor and non-criminal offenses in Nassau County who thereafter were strip searched upon entry to Nassau County Correctional Center, from May 20, 1996 to June 1, 1999. There is a class action in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York entitled In Re Nassau County Strip Search Cases, Civ 99-3126, 2844, 4238 (DRH). In a nutshell, in 1999, the District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that Nassau County's blanket policy of strip searching newly admitted, misdemeanor detainees violated clearly established Fourth Amendment law. See Shain v. Ellison, 53 F.Supp.2d 564 (E.D.N.Y.1999), aff'd, 273 F.3d 56 (2d Cir.2001). Although the policy has never been formally enjoined, Shain v. Ellison, 356 F.3d 211 (2d Cir.2004) (vacating injunction for lack of standing), Nassau County officials assert that following the District Court's 1999 decision, they ceased implementing it. Shortly after the District Court's 1999 decision, plaintiffs brought three separate actions in the Eastern District of New York. Together, plaintiffs named as defendants Nassau County, Sheriff Joseph P. Jablonsky, the Sheriff's Department, County Executive Thomas S. Gulotta, the Division of Corrections, the Port Washington Police District and its chief of police, William Kilfoil, and up to 200 subordinate John and Jane Doe corrections officers. The case is now certified as a class action and defendants have conceded liability to the class members. If you are a member of the class, you have until August 15 to be excluded and if you have any questions, contact the class administrator at 1 877 933-1295