TOMS RIVER - Were you strip searched at the Ocean County Jail?

If so, you may be getting a check in the mail.

Ocean County has reached a $1,975,000 settlement to compensate inmates who were unnecessarily strip-searched upon being detained in the county lockup.

Eligible detainees could be awarded up to $300, according to an agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit on behalf of inmates who claim they were wrongfully searched.

To qualify, an inmate must have been booked into the jail between Nov. 28, 2005, and Dec. 28, 2007, charged with non-indictable offenses and strip searched, according to the settlement agreement.

Attorneys on behalf of the inmates in the class action suit said there are potentially 7,530 people eligible to make claims for a portion of the financial settlement.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of jail inmates by Cherry Hill attorneys Carl Poplar and William Riback, claimed that Ocean County’s booking procedures undertaken by its corrections officers at the county jail resulted in unlawful strip searches of people who were admitted into the jail without being under any reasonable suspicion of concealing contraband.

The inmates represented in the suit included those arrested for traffic offenses, petty disorderly and disorderly persons offenses, misdemeanors, child support arrears, contempt of court and failure to appear at court proceedings, according to court papers.

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Ocean County Department of Corrections Policies and Procedures stated the strip searches were necessary to prevent contraband from entering the jail. But the plaintiffs asserted that detainees not charged with indictable offenses should have been excluded from the strip searches because they are “frequently not dangerous and are often released shortly after being placed in custody," the court papers said.

“Plaintiffs assert that correctional officers at the Ocean County Jail performed these strip searches regardless of the nature of the crime charged or the existence of reasonable suspicion that the detainee was concealing a weapon or some other contraband," the papers said.

Riback said the lawsuit was filed in order to stop the practice of strip searching those individuals.

“Minor offenders entering a county jail should not be strip searched," Riback said.

Although agreeing to settle the lawsuit, Ocean County denied any wrongdoing. The county has since revised its policies to eliminate the administration of strip searches to all non-indictable pretrial detainees as of Dec. 29, 2007, the settlement said.

Two plaintiffs who represented the class in the lawsuit, Richard Wright and April Wedding, are each entitled to $10,000 from the settlement fund, according to court documents. Other eligible people can be paid up to $300. In addition, the county will pay $625,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs, according to the settlement.

In order to collect a portion of the settlement, eligible individuals must submit a claim form by Feb. 1. Claim forms are available at www.oceancountystripsearch.com. They should be sent to Ocean County Settlement, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 170500, Milwaukee, WI 53217.

Eligible individuals who want to exclude themselves from the settlement and retain the right to sue Ocean County on their own must notify the settlement administrator by mail and refer to Bizzarro, et. al., v. Ocean County, Docket No. OCN-1644-17. Requests for exclusions should be mailed to EXCLUSIONS, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173001, Milwaukee, WI 53217.

Members of the settlement class who wish to object to the settlement agreement must do so in writing and refer to the case and docket number. Objections must be sent to each of three different addresses: Clerk of the Court, Ocean County Superior Court, 118 Washington St., Room 121, P.O. Box 2191, Toms River, NJ 08754; John C. Sahradnik, Esquire, Berry, Sahradnik, Kotzas & Benson, P.C., 212 Hooper Ave., P.O. Box 757, Toms River, NJ 08754-0757; and Carl Poplar, Esquire, 1010 Kings Highway South, Building One, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034.

Objections to the settlement and requests to be excluded from it must be postmarked no later than Dec. 15.

A final hearing on the settlement is scheduled for 10 a.m. on April 17 before Superior Court Judge Arnold B. Goldman at the Ocean County Courthouse, 100 Hooper Ave., Courtroom 9. Attendance is welcome but not necessary. The date and time of the hearing are subject to change. Any changes to the hearing date will be posted at www.oceancountystripsearch.com, where further information about the settlement also is available. More information also is available by calling the Settlement Help Line at 1-866-828-2555.

Kathleen Hopkins: 732-643-4202; Khopkins@app.com