Bell v. Wolfish
| Bell v. Wolfish | |
|---|---|
| Argued January 16, 1979 Decided May 14, 1979 | |
| Full case name | Griffin Bell, Attorney General, et al. v. Wolfish, et al. |
| Citations | 441 U.S. 520 (more) 99 S. Ct. 1861; 60 L. Ed. 2d 447; 1979 U.S. LEXIS 100 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | U.S. ex rel. Wolfish v. Levi, 439 F. Supp. 114 (S.D.N.Y. 1977), aff'd in part, rev'd in part sub nom. Wolfish v. Levi, 573 F.2d 118 (2d Cir. 1978); cert. granted, 439 U.S. 816 (1978). |
| Subsequent | Vacated and remanded, Wolfish v. Levi, 681 F.2d 803 (2d Cir. 1981). |
| Holding | |
| The Fourth Amendment does not prohibit strip searches and similar intrusive conduct against persons being held in federal prison while awaiting trial. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Rehnquist, joined by Burger, Stewart, White, Blackmun |
| Concur/dissent | Powell |
| Dissent | Marshall |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by Brennan |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const., amend. IV | |
Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of various conditions of confinement of inmates held in federal short-term detention facilities. The Court narrowly found that while treatment of pre-trial detainees is subject to constraint by the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments,[2] all of the policies challenged in the case passed constitutional scrutiny.