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A federal judge in Los Angeles has added $45,000 in legal fees to a $200,000 jury award against the city and its police department arising out of a 1979 strip-search and arrest of a 14-year-old girl.
In U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. also denied a request from the city for a new trial or a reduction in the jury award to Kimberly Paul, now a 20-year-old U.S. Army private first class at Ft. Hood, Tex.
City officials say they plan to appeal Hatter’s decision.
In February, a federal jury found that the police had violated Paul’s constitutional rights when she was strip-searched by a jail matron after she was mistakenly arrested for suspicion of armed robbery.
The girl was later released by police, who apologized for the incident, but Paul’s lawyer, Yvonne B. Renfrew, contended that the incident left Paul humiliated and terrified by recurring nightmares.
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