LaReau v. MacDougall

The Court’s opinion appears to contain two findings of violations of La-Reau’s Eighth Amendment rights. The Court clearly says that it believes the conditions in the strip cell fall below the Constitutional minimum. In footnote six, however, the Court adds:

Even if the strip cell could be justified for serious offenses, it was a grossly severe penalty for LaReau’s offense.

I believe the Court errs in both of these holdings.

The majority focuses on two aspects of strip cell confinement which they believe combine to violate the minimum standards of the Eighth Amendment. The “Chinese toilet” and…