BEXAR COUNTY -- Bexar County has approved a $5.5 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit in which jail inmates claimed their rights were violated when they were strip-searched.
Julia Ann Jackson was arrested in 2007 for driving with an invalid license. Her attorney says Jackson was strip searched and humiliated. The charge against Jackson was later dismissed, but she took the county to federal court in a class action lawsuit. Her attorney alleges it is unconstitutional to blanket strip search misdemeanor detainees without reason.
Bexar County officials say their officers did nothing wrong. Up until April of last year, Bexar County had a policy of visually strip searching all people who did not bond out and who were about to be housed in jail. The county says it was done for the protection of inmates, officers, and the general public who visited the jail. The county claims no contact was allowed, and detainees were searched only by members of the same sex.
County officials explains they settled the dispute out of court because it was in the financial interest of Bexar County to settle the lawsuit. Under the agreement, inmates admitted into the Bexar County Jail from November 15, 2005 to April 9, 2009 can qualify for a payout of up to $1,000, depending on the charge.
To find out more about the settlement, click here.
