Editorial: Assault on Privacy - 19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|News, Weather, Sports

Editorial: Assault on Privacy

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In the post 9/11 era, we are growing accustomed to having little pieces of our liberty chipped away. It's hard now to remember what air travel was like without having to partially disrobe to get through security. And now-thanks to a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme court - comes yet another convenient assault on the fourth amendment. 

The court last week voted five to four to allow strip searches for those arrested for even minor offenses like traffic violations and the court said it was permissible even without reasonable suspicion.  The court said safety concerns outweigh personal privacy rights.

The ruling involved a case in new jersey where a man was mistakenly arrested for not paying a traffic fine and was subjected to two strip searches. Well, it's somewhat unclear how this ruling will affect citizens in the ten states including Ohio that require probable cause.  Nevertheless, this ruling adds to the continuing re-definition of what constitutes privacy and it should be unsettling to all of us.

Write and let me know what you think.  I'm Bill Applegate and here's the address.

Copyright 2012 WOIO. All rights reserved.

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