Filed Date: April 30, 1984
Clearinghouse coding complete
In 1984, two male pre-trial detainees filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, challenging the strip search policy in effect at the Chisago County Jail. The written policy at issue was instituted by the County Sheriff in 1982 and required that all persons to be housed in the Jail be strip searched for weapons and contraband. Females were not housed in the Jail, so they were not subject to the policy and were only strip searched if they were suspected of harboring drugs or weapons. Plaintiffs maintained that the policy violated the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. They requested monetary damages and class certification.
Following discovery, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment and Plaintiff moved for class certification. On July 8, 1985, the District Court (Judge Edward James Devitt) held that: (1) the policy was unconstitutional and (2) Plaintiffs were entitled to judgment on liability against the County, but (2) the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. John Does 1-100 v. Ninneman, 612 F.Supp. 1069 (D.Minn. 1985).
Defendants then moved to dismiss the case on grounds that the suit was not filed within the statute of limitations. On May 7, 1986, the District Court (Judge Devitt) denied Defendants' motion, holding that it would not retroactively apply the recent United States Supreme Court case, of Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261 (1985), which changed the law governing statutes of limitations in § 1983 civil rights actions. The Court also denied as premature Plaintiffs' request for an award of attorneys' fees, reasoning that Plaintiff's counsel had about 40 similar strip search cases pending and the Court wanted to avoid multiple fee awards for what was possibly repeated work. John Does 1-100 v. Ninneman, 634 F.Supp. 341 (D.Minn. 1986)
There was no PACER docket available and we have no further information on this case.
Summary Authors
Dan Dalton (2/17/2008)
Devitt, Edward James (Minnesota)
Reed, Barry G. (Minnesota)
Zimmerman, Charles S. (Minnesota)
Marshall, Joseph B. (Minnesota)
Votel, Terry (Minnesota)
Last updated May 1, 2024, 3:11 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Minnesota
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: April 30, 1984
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Two male pre-trial detainees (purported to represent a class) who were strip-searched at the Chisago County Jail pursuant to a blanket jail policy
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Unknown
Defendants
Chisago County Sheriff's Department (Chisago), County
Chisago County (Chisago), County
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Affected Sex/Gender(s):
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions: