An Unreasonable Online Search: How a Sheriffs Webcams Strengthened Fourth Amendment Privacy Rights of Pretrial Detainees

This Note will discuss how courts approach pretrial detainees\u27 claims of punishment, exploring both Fourteenth Amendment Due Process claims and privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment. It will go on to discuss Demery\u27s implications for Fourth Amendment privacy rights of pretrial detainees. Part I explores the protections pretrial detainees are afforded under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause. Part l.A discusses the general differences between pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners. Part I.B considers two Supreme Court cases - Bell v. Wolfish and Block v. Rutherford - that address the standards used in evaluating punishment claims in a pretrial detention context under the Due Process Clause. Part I.C explores the Fourth Amendment and privacy rights in general. This section also discusses the level of protection prisoners and pretrial detainees are afforded under the Fourth Amendment after Hudson v. Palmer. This Note considers the interactions between these lines of cases in order to clarify the actual scope of privacy rights retained by pretrial detainees. Part II of the Note will examine the factual history and majority and minority opinions in Demery. Finally, Part III will discuss the impact Demery may have on pretrial detainees\u27 privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment