People v. Jennings

We agree with the County Court that, under the circumstances of this case, the search of the defendant’s person conducted incident to his arrest for the unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation under Penal Law § 221.05, was an unjustified warrantless search of unlimited scope and therefore was illegal. Strip searches of arrestees charged with misdemeanors or other minor offenses violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution unless there is a reasonable suspicion that the arrestee is concealing weapons or contraband based on the crime charged, the particular…