Gov. Walker signed a bill this week that will generally allow authorities to strip search anyone thrown in jail, even if they are not charged with a crime.
He signed the bill in private, according to the Associated Press.
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The Legislature wants to throw a giant strip-search party, and way too many people are invited. The Constitution, however, is not. Under a bill just adopted by the Assembly and sent to the governor, litterers, loiterers, and others whose jail stay is expected to be only a few minutes or few hours will join the ranks of the strip searched. Doesn't matter if the cops have one iota of reason to believe that a detained person has contraband. Doesn't matter if the person has been charged with a crime. Doesn't matter if the person is jailed for littering or loitering. Anyone who is expected to be lawfully detained with at least one other person for any amount of time will be subject to strip search. Currently, only those held at least 12 hours are subject to strip search. The Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association likes the bill because it allows more efficient operations of jails. "Many counties do not have the capacity to hold multiple individuals for twelve hours prior to moving them into cells with other incarcerated individuals....The twelve-hour hold provision puts a burden on jail staff to manage limited holding cell space, and the hold potentially compromises safety in the jail," the association said in testimony submitted to the Assembly Committee on Corrections. The association also argued that allowing strip searches of everyone enhances safety. "Strip searches are conducted to protect the detainee, other inmates, and jail staff. The twelve-hour hold provision limits the ability of law enforcement to ensure the jails are free of dangerous weapons, drugs and disease," it said.
The State Public Defender's Office, however, reminded the committee that the 12-hour limit was put in place during the previous legislative session because of constitutional concerns. "We respectfully request that the committee consider the ramifications of removing the twelve hour delay without data to show that it is necessary," Adam Plotkin, legislative liaison for the public defender's office, wrote to the committee. When considered previously, he said, "all available evidence suggested that there was not a significant amount of contraband being taken into jails after arrest of individuals." Two court cases considered how much contraband was found during strip searches, Plotkin said. In one case, In one, 23,000 strip searches over a four-year period resulted in five instances of contraband found; in the other, 75,000 body cavity searches over five years resulted in 16 instances of contraband discovery. The State Legislature is considering proposals to fix the state's broken civil asset forfeiture system that allows law enforcement agencies to seize for their own use property suspected of being used or derived from criminal activity. A public hearing was held on the reform bill, SB521, on Tuesday and a public hearing is scheduled Thursday on a companion bill, AB 537. The bills, before the Senate Government and Labor Reform and Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety committees, would restrict seizures to cases in which a conviction was obtained, ensure funds realized through seizures go to support schools, and require public reporting about seizures, among other things. WJI's testimony to the Senate committee. The strangest question asked during a Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety meeting came from Republican State Rep. Cody Horlacher (R-Mukwonago).
"Are you in favor of corpse hiders?" Horlacher asked. "Because I'm not." Horlacher asked his question after State Rep. Fred Kessler, (D-Milwaukee) wondered whether anyone had been sentenced to the 10-year maximum for hiding a corpse. He told Horlacher he did not want people engaged in hiding corpses, but questioned the need for increasing the penalty. The committee was debating Assembly Bill 202, which would ibump the maximum penalty to 12 1/2 years in prison. The committee recommended adoption on a 11-1 vote. State legislators who back dumping the use of John Doe investigations for many alleged crimes argue that the state can use grand juries instead. There are obvious differences between John Doe and grand jury proceedings. In a John Doe, the presiding judge has broad discretion to issue subpoenas and search warrants. In a grand jury, the jurors listen to testimony given by witnesses and can either return and indictment or not.
But good luck getting a grand jury seated in this age of multiple jobs and crazy schedules. Sayeth the law: "Grand jurors shall serve for a period of 31 consecutive days unless more days are necessary to complete service in a particular proceeding." The law allows the presiding judge to discharge a grand jury at any time, but who will be wiling to even entertain the possibility of giving up a month of their lives? |
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