Hodges v. Stanley, 1406

Citation712 F.2d 34
Decision Date08 July 1983
Docket NumberNo. 1406,D,1406
PartiesLouis W. HODGES, Appellant, v. Lt. Leonard STANLEY; Dale Thomas, Warden, Metropolitan Correction Center; and Several Unknown Correctional Officers, Appellees. ocket 83-2018.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)

Louis W. Hodges, appellant pro se.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, U.S. Atty., S.D.N.Y., New York City (Barbara L. Schulman, Thomas D. Warren, Asst. U.S. Attys.), New York City, for appellees.

Before OAKES and CARDAMONE, Circuit Judges, and BARTELS, District Judge. *

PER CURIAM:

This is an appeal from an order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Charles L. Brieant, Judge, dismissing a pro se civil rights complaint for failure to state a claim. The plaintiff, Louis W. Hodges, is an inmate at the Metropolitan Correction Center (MCC). His complaint alleged that, as a result of a strip search conducted prior to his being placed in administrative detention and incidents related thereto, he was deprived of his Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Hodges had apparently been searched immediately prior to the search forming the basis of his complaint; when he questioned the need for a second search conducted by Lt. Stanley, an officer present during the first search, Hodges alleges that he was "physically accosted ... kneed in the groin area ... choked to the point of unconsciousness ... handcuffed ... and hoisted to his feet."

The Government's answer generally admitted Hodges' allegations but denied that portion of the complaint regarding the alleged assault. Judge Brieant believed that Hodges sought only declaratory and injunctive relief and he therefore dismissed the complaint on standing grounds on November 8, 1982, because Hodges was no longer an inmate at the MCC. Hodges, however, had amended his complaint, demanding monetary damages, and moved for reconsideration of the dismissal. Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b). Upon reconsideration, Judge Brieant held that "[e]ven as now amended to claim money damages, the complaint fails to state a claim which rises to a constitutional level." Taking the allegations in the complaint as true, we believe that Hodges has stated a constitutional claim and therefore reverse as to defendant Stanley and the "unknown correctional officers" named in the complaint.

In its answer the Government stated as an affirmative defense that strip searches are part of a "mandatory procedure" applicable whenever an inmate is placed in administrative detention and it emphasizes on appeal that strip searches were upheld by the Supreme Court in Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979). While it is true that inmates do not enjoy the full range of constitutional rights possessed by unincarcerated individuals, Price v. Johnston, 334 U.S. 266, 285, 68 S.Ct. 1049, 1060, 92 L.Ed. 1356 (1948), the Fourth Amendment still requires that searches--even those in the prison context--be reasonable. As Bell itself makes clear, "[c]ourts must consider the scope of the particular intrusion, the manner in which it is conducted, the justification for initiating it, and the place in which it is conducted." 441 U.S. at 559, 99 S.Ct. at 1884. Hodges' challenge is not to the validity of predetention...

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  • Green v. Martin
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
    • December 14, 2016
    ...because the inmate lacked an opportunity to obtain contraband in the time in between the searches. See Hodges v. Stanley , 712 F.2d 34, 35–36 (2d Cir. 1983) ; Jean–Laurent , 438 F.Supp.2d at 323.2 These decisions do not alter the Court's principle expressed in Bell that the manner in which ......
  • Hudson v. Palmer Palmer v. Hudson
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • July 3, 1984
    ...Amendment protects prisoners against searches and seizures not reasonably related to institutional needs. See Hodges v. Stanley, 712 F.2d 34, 35 (CA2 1983) (per curiam); DiGuiseppe v. Ward, 698 F.2d 602, 605 (CA2 1983); United States v. Vallez, 653 F.2d 403, 406 (CA9), cert. denied, 454 U.S......
  • Morgan v. Ward
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York
    • November 7, 1988
    ...J., concurring), and thus any governmental invasion of that privacy interest must also be "reasonable." See, e.g., Hodges v. Stanley, 712 F.2d 34 (2d Cir. 1983) (inmate held in administrative detention); Hurley v. Ward, 584 F.2d 609 (2d Cir.1978) (Hurley I) (inmates held in punitive segrega......
  • Turkmen v. Ashcroft
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
    • January 15, 2013
    ...created a policy that, by its terms, mandated searches that were untethered to any legitimate penological purpose, see Hodges v. Stanley, 712 F.2d 34, 35 (2d Cir.1983) (holding that consecutive body cavity searches of inmates are unreasonable); Covino, 967 F.2d at 80 (searches used to haras......
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