4th Amendment: The Hudson V. Palmer Case

The 4th amendment states that the right to privacy should not by violated by conducting unreasonable searches and seizures. In the hudson v. Palmer case, an inmate named Russel Palmer sued Ted Hudson who was an officer at the Virginia prison. Palmer stated that the officer had conducted a shakedown of his locker and cell in the attempt to find hidden contraband. After the search turned out to be unsuccessful, Officer Hudson, then charged Palmer for destroying state property, as they found a ripped pillow case in his cell. Ted Hudson won the case, as the court stated that the right to privacy does not apply within a prison cell. Personally, I agree with this opinion. When breaking the rules there are consequences to go along with it. Prison can be a very violent place, as there are many stressors and reasons for frustration and depression. Having members of different gangs, does not calm the situation down. Cells and inmates have to be regularly checked in order to keep contraband such as drugs, liquor, phones ect. out of the prison. Inmates are also known to build shanks, which they use to attack other inmates or officers. I am sure there are many inmates who can be trusted, however there are also many who

Wolfish case was the first supreme court case which dealt with the conditions of confinement as well as further interpreting the eighth amendment. The Metropolitan Correctional Center in New york had panned for primarily single person cells, however due to over crowing the cells designed for one had now two inmates. The wolfish ruling is important on two major points. First is provided the standard of measuring the constitutionality of conditions for pretrial detainees. They also came to the conclusion that double bunking, is not necessarily unconstitutional. The Bell v. Wolfish case has allowed jails to be double-bunked or otherwise crowded, as long as the conditions do not become „genuine privations and hardships over and extended period of