Posted by Inimai Chettiar Yesterday a divided Supreme Court ruled in Florence v. Burlington that any person arrested can be subject to a strip search — even for a minor offense or traffic violation — without any reason to suspect that they may be carrying a weapon or contraband.

The ACLU of Southern California, along with several community and civil rights groups, has sent a letter urging the LAPD to suspend its “Suspicious Activity Reporting” (SAR) program until it revises policy to better protect civil liberties. The letter was signed by the ACLU/SC and groups including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the South Asian Network (SAN) and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA).

Detain first, investigate later — that is Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) mantra when it comes to its Secure Communities ("S-Comm") program, a program designed to immediately ensnare any immigrant in the deportation pipeline the moment they come into contact with the criminal justice system.