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).