Oliver v. Scott.

U.S. Appeals Court

CROSS GENDER SUPERVISION

FEMALE STAFF

Oliver v. Scott, 276 F.3d 736 (5th Cir. 2002). A male prisoner brought a civil rights suit against a prison warden, correctional officers, and private contractors who operated a state jail facility, alleging constitutional violations arising from cross-gender surveillance and strip searches, and the absence of partitions in male shower areas. The district court dismissed a portion of the complaint for failure to state a claim and entered summary judgment in favor of the defendants for the remaining issues. The prisoner appealed and the appeals court affirmed. The appeals court held that any minimal right to bodily privacy possessed by the male prisoner did not preclude cross-gender surveillance and that such surveillance, in the absence of partitions in the male shower area, did not violate the prisoner's equal protection rights. The court noted that fundamental implied rights--marriage, family procreation, and the right of bodily integrity--do not include a right of prisoners to avoid surveillance by members of the opposite sex. According to the court, the existence of privacy partitions in female inmates' showers and the absence of male guard surveillance of female inmates did not violate the equal protection rights of the male prisoner because male prisoners were not similarly situated to female prisoners due to their conviction for more violent crimes, larger numbers, and higher incidence of violent gang activity and sexual predation. The court found that the prisoner's complaint did not identify a specific unconstitutional policy that correctional officers allegedly violated by engaging in cross-gender strip searches and monitoring of prisoners. (Dawson State Jail Facility, Texas)