United States v. Sherry Marie Lilly, United States of America v. Merrilyn M. Gallegos

JAMES C. HILL, Circuit Judge:

The case on appeal raises the question of the legal validity of body cavity searches conducted on federal inmates when they return to prison after unsupervised absences. Defendants-appellants Merrilyn M. Gallegos and Sherry Marie Lilly were inmates at the federal correctional institution (F.C.I.) at Fort Worth, Texas. In unrelated incidents, prison officials discovered both defendants attempting to smuggle contraband into prison in a body cavity. Each defendant subsequently gave a statement to an FBI agent concerning the attempted smuggling. Before their…