Would you expect if you were a passenger in a car stopped for speeding that you'd be strip searched and jailed for six days? Because a computer showed you hadn't paid a fine in another county, even though you had paperwork to prove you had?
That's what a Bordentown man, Albert Florence, says happened to him, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week. It alleges that in 2005 he was arrested, strip searched and forced to sit in a Burlington County jail for six days. Then he was transferred to Essex County, where he was again strip searched but released when authorities confirmed he owed no money on the fine.
All this although Florence had records in the glove box of the car showing he had paid the fine two years earlier.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that Florence's claims against Essex and Burlington counties could go forward as a class-action suit on behalf of an estimated 7,000 people who also were strip searched in noncriminal cases.
Strip searching someone arrested for a minor offense, unless there is reason to believe the person has drugs, guns or other illegal contraband, is indefensible. The federal courts have said so.
Florence and his wife were traveling on 295 in Burlington County when they were stopped by a state trooper, allegedly for speeding. Even though his wife was driving, the officer ran Florence's name through the computer because the car was registered in his name, leading to erroneous information about the fine. Incidentally, no speeding ticket was issued.
Several things about this case cry out for attention.
Why are strip searches for minor offenses still being carried out?
Why would someone be held in jail for six days before being transferred to the county with the (false) claim for nonpayment?
Finally, what's the point of giving law enforcement officers in-car computers if two years after a fine has been paid a computer shows an outstanding arrest warrant?
If the plaintiffs prevail, the punishment will not simply fall on the backs of boneheaded officials who allowed these practices to go unabated. Taxpayers will be stuck with the bill. Less than a year ago, Camden County officials had to pay $7.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of 20,000 people arrested in the county who similarly alleged that they were illegally strip searched.