San Mateo County, CA

San Mateo County, CA: (May-12-07) Shannon Gallagher, 36, filed a class action against San Mateo County after she was she was arrested July 3, 2002, in Pacifica, for a traffic warrant. The lawsuit claims she was wrongfully strip-searched when booked into the Maguire Jail and then again on being transferred to the women's jail. Gallagher claimed that the strip searches violated her Fourth Amendment rights, and her suit led an estimated 1,200 women to join in the class action against the county. In a settlement reached, the county agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle the class action suit with the women. The women, who were taken into custody by the county between Feb. 3, 2002, and Dec. 2, 2003, could claim up to $1.15 million of the money. The rest would go toward attorneys' fees and other expenses. The county did not have to admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The settlement was filed in the US District Court Northern California and has been preliminarily approved by Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong, pending a fairness hearing in November to determine how many people respond to the notices and to see whether there are any objections to the settlement. [PALO ALTO DAILY: STRIP SEARCH SETTLEMENT]