Edward Nelson Rickman v. Warden Avaniti, Warden at Cb-6, Aspc-Florence

Rickman, an inmate at the Arizona State Prison, appeals pro se the district court’s grant of summary judgment to prison officials in this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. Rick-man has challenged the prison’s visual strip search policy. We affirm.

Arizona State Prison policy requires prisoners in the administrative segregation unit to submit to visual strip and body cavity searches when leaving their cells. Administrative segregation is the highest custody status that can be assigned an inmate, and is used for inmates requiring close supervision. Rickman refused to submit to such a search, and consequently he has not been allowed to leave his cell to go to the exercise yard. Rickman then filed this section 1983 action against five prison officials challenging the prison policy. The district court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

Rickman argues that the prison policy requiring visual strip searches violates his fourth amendment and due process rights. However, the Supreme Court has stated that judicial deference to prison administrators should be “wide-ranging,” especially concerning “the adoption and execution of policies and practices that in their judgment are…