Freedom from an intrusive government

While you can't tell the fate of the individual mandate or the ACA from the musings of a couple of justices in oral arguments, it is surely heartening that while they are troubled by the intrusive hands all over my freeeeeedooom to not have health insurance, they got no problem with strip searches for unpaid fines.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, joined by the court’s conservative wing, wrote that courts are in no position to second-guess the judgments of correctional officials who must consider not only the possibility of smuggled weapons and drugs, but also public health and information about gang affiliations.

“Every detainee who will be admitted to the general population may be required to undergo a close visual inspection while undressed,” Justice Kennedy wrote, adding that about 13 million people are admitted each year to the nation’s jails.

The procedures endorsed by the majority are forbidden by statute in at least 10 states and are at odds with the policies of federal authorities. According to a supporting brief filed by the American Bar Association, international human rights treaties also ban the procedures.