ACLU joins Naked detention suit - Saginaw County Jail accused of stripping inmates

The American Civil Liberties Union has joined two lawsuits against the Saginaw County Jail over a policy of stripping rowdy detainees and keeping them naked in solitary confinement. A federal judge has ruled in one of the cases that the policy is unconstitutional, but he has yet to award damages. The two cases could be consolidated and certified as a class action, said Wendy Wagenheim, a spokeswoman for the ACLU of Michigan. Lawyers estimate the total of plaintiffs could number about 200, she said Tuesday. Saginaw County Sheriff Charles Brown defended the policy as an effort to balance inmate safety with privacy rights. But he said the practice was discontinued in 2001 or 2002 -- something the plaintiffs' lawyers and the ACLU dispute. Amanda White, one of the plaintiffs, said male guards at the jail undressed her and left her in an area called the hole when she was detained on a drunken driving charge four years ago. "There were guards and men that came up and peered, and viewed, while I was in there naked -- anywhere from seven to 10 different faces," said White, now 25. "I felt humiliated and completely violated the entire time I was there." [more]