Judge Orders $440K in Damages for Iowa Protesters

October 13, 2010

An attorney says two Iowa women who were strip-searched after being arrested for protesting at a rally for President George Bush in 2004 have accepted a $440,000 award.

The Gazette on Tuesday says U.S. District Judge Linda Reade filed an order recalculating the damages that followed a federal appeals court decision. Reade reduced a jury’s award of $750,000 to $75,000 in 2008, saying it was excessive.

A federal appeals court in June said the amount was miscalculated and ordered the case back to district court to increase the damages or for another trial.

Alice McCabe and Christine Nelson were arrested during a Bush rally in Cedar Rapids. They were taken to the Linn County jail and strip-searched. They sued the female jailer.

The women’s attorney, David O’Brien, says they accepted the award.