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| St. Croix settles suit over strip-searches for $7M |
| By Pioneer Press |
| Published: 12/08/2003 |
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St. Croix County has agreed to pay about $7 million to settle a lawsuit involving thousands of inmates who were strip-searched at the Wisconsin county's jail between 1996 and 2001. If approved by U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb, about 2,900 people who entered into a class-action lawsuit against the county will be eligible to receive about $5.5 million. An additional $1.5 million will go toward legal fees and other court costs, county officials said last Thursday. The county will pay a $2.5 million deductible and its insurer, Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Co., the remainder. The two plaintiffs whose lawsuit led to the class-action suit will each receive $35,000. The others would receive about $3,000 to $3,500. The lawsuit contended that St. Croix County's strip-search policy violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Until February 2001, all individuals who were booked into the jail were subjected to a search of their genitals and buttocks, according to the lawsuit. For women, the search included their breasts. The searches began under then-Sheriff Paul Burch and ended in February 2001 when current Sheriff Dennis Hillstead revised the policy to comply with state law. The law allows strip-searches for detainees who have been convicted of weapons offenses or who are believed to be carrying contraband, such as drugs, Hillstead said Thursday. The law generally does not allow searches for people who have committed misdemeanor offenses. Hillstead said that shortly after the jail was built in 1993, the former strip-search policy began and continued as one jailer trained the next. The policy's purpose, according to the class-action suit, was "to ensure the highest level of security" but exceeded the county's constitutional authority. The county didn't acknowledge it had violated the law but decided a settlement would be less expensive than defending its policy in court, according to court documents. "The proposal is based on negotiations," said Ray Pollen, an attorney representing the county board, sheriff's department and jail staff. Pollen said such settlements are not unprecedented. Many cities and states have made similar settlements in recent years, including New York City, which paid $50 million to settle a lawsuit after jail officers in Queens and Manhattan conducted strip-searches of people charged with minor infractions. Payments to the former inmates will vary depending on a variety of factors, including whether the claimant was a juvenile when searched. |
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