Opinion
No. 4006-2-III.
May 26, 1981.
[1] Searches and Seizures — Prisons — Search for Contraband — Institutional Security. A search of a convict's cell conducted without warning or particularized suspicion is reasonable in light of the security interests of the prison and the minimal invasion of the personal rights of the convict.
Nature of Action: A convict was charged with possessing a weapon after a knife was found in his cell during a routine search.
Superior Court: The Superior Court for Walla Walla County, No. 73674, Yancey Reser, J., on May 21, 1980, entered a judgment finding the defendant guilty.
Court of Appeals: Holding that the search was reasonable, the court affirms the judgment.
William W. Messer, for appellant.
Arthur R. Eggers, Prosecuting Attorney, for respondent.
Defendant Douglas Justice appeals his conviction for being a prisoner in possession of a weapon.
The sole issue is whether the trial court erred in failing to suppress a knife found in a Kleenex box during a routine search of defendant's cell at the Washington State Penitentiary.
[1] The reasonableness of a routine prison search, i.e., one conducted without probable cause or even a suspicion, must be determined by balancing the need for the particular search against the invasion of personal rights that the search entails. Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 560, 60 L.Ed.2d 447, 99 S.Ct. 1861 (1979). In State v. Baker, 28 Wn. App. 423, 623 P.2d 1172 (1981), this court held that a routine patdown for weapons conducted within a state penitentiary is reasonable because the security interest of the institution outweighs the minimal intrusion into the inmate's privacy. That rule applies with equal force to an inmate's cell. See Olson v. Klecker, 642 F.2d 1115 (8th Cir. 1981).
Judgment affirmed.
ROE, A.C.J., and GREEN, J., concur.