Filed Date: April 17, 1987
Closed Date: 1988
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On April 17, 1987, the original plaintiff, Jane Roe, filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, challenging the Town of Highland's blanket policy of strip searching women detained for any offense, including traffic violations, whether or not there was reasonable suspicion that the detainee possessed weapons or contraband. Plaintiff sought monetary damages and moved for class certification.
On September 2, 1988, the District Court (Judge Rudy Lozano) denied class certification on grounds that Plaintiff failed to substantiate the size of the class and the impracticality of joinder. Plaintiff Roe then settled her individual claim and the District Court entered final judgment on September 6, 1988. A procedural mess then ensued.
Twenty-nine days after entry of final judgment, Suzanne Morgan, represented by Roe's attorney, moved to intervene in the case in order to represent the plaintiff class for purposes of appealing the District Court's order denying class certification. On same day, Roe's attorney also filed a notice of appeal from the District Court's order on behalf of the putative plaintiff class.
The District Court did not rule on the intervention motion, and, in January 1989, Morgan sought but was denied intervention in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On February 7, 1989, at the request of the putative plaintiff class, the appeal was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice.
On February 6, 1989, the day before the appeal was dismissed by the Seventh Circuit, Morgan filed a motion requesting that the District Court (Judge Lozano) rule on her intervention motion. It did so on March 16, 1989 by denying the motion on the ground that there was no pending action for Morgan to join. Morgan appealed that ruling to the Seventh Circuit.
On August 14, 1990, the Seventh Circuit (Judge Kenneth Francis Ripple) affirmed the District Court's denial of Morgan's motion to intervene. The Seventh Circuit agreed with the District Court's conclusion that the voluntary dismissal of Morgan's first appeal resulted in the termination of the case such that there was no action in which she could subsequently intervene. Morgan was thus foreclosed from appealing the District Court's orders denying intervention and class certification. Roe v. Town of Highland, 909 F.2d 1097 (7th Cir.1990).
We have no further information on this case.
Summary Authors
Dan Dalton (2/17/2008)
Ripple, Kenneth Francis (Indiana)
Noel, Nona (Indiana)
Susler, Janis M. (Illinois)
Taylor, G. Flint (Illinois)
Tauber, Rhett L. (Indiana)
Last updated March 23, 2024, 3:03 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Indiana
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: April 17, 1987
Closing Date: 1988
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Women who were arrested and strip-searched by the Town of Highland's pursuant to its blanket policy of strip searching all women detained for any offense, including traffic tickets.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Unknown
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Denied
Defendants
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Mixed
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Discrimination Basis:
Affected Sex/Gender(s):
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions: