A federal judge has ruled that police officers and a physician who medically paralyzed a man to conduct a cavity search for drugs in Tennessee are not immune from prosecution.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/YsTsNq) the 2010 cavity search at the Oak Ridge Methodist Medical Center did turn up cocaine, and Felix Booker was charged with a federal drug crime.

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals tossed out the case, however, saying the search "shocked the conscience" and violated the Constitution.

Booker filed a civil-rights lawsuit naming several authorities in the Anderson County Sheriff's Office and Oak Ridge Police Department, and the physician involved.

The defendants' attorneys have argued they're immune from prosecution because they were just doing their jobs.

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Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com