NCJ Number
101204
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 76 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1985) Pages: 75-115
Date Published
1985
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This article assesses the merits of the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Hudson v. Palmer (1984) and its implications for the vitality of constitutionally protected privacy of inmates.
Abstract
Palmer brought a civil rights action contending that Hudson had violated his fourth amendment rights by conducting a cell shakedown solely for harassment purposes and by destroying some of Palmer's noncontraband property, including letters and legal materials. In its decision, the Court held that fourth amendment protection of prison cells was unavailable on the grounds that Palmer could not establish a sufficient privacy interest. Thus, contrary to a substantial body of lower-court case law, the Court held that inmates possess no recognizable privacy expectations in their prisons cells nor can they secure against unreasonable search and seizure or destruction of their personal papers and effects. The decision in Palmer signals an end of the judicial attempt to accommodate inmates' privacy rights against the State's interest in maintaining law and order within penal institutions. The significance of this decision is magnified in that it provides a theoretical basis for the total demise of the constitutional rights of inmate privacy by implying that personal privacy, as well as the privacy of personal property, is unprotected. 226 footnotes.