LARRY O’DELL
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Supreme Court says a judge went too far in requiring a sex offender to give up his constitutional protection against unreasonable searches.

As a condition of probation, a Hanover County Circuit Court judge required that Ronald Stuart Murry Jr. submit to law enforcement searches without a warrant or any suspicion of wrongdoing for the rest of his life after serving his sentence of 16 years and seven months in prison. The judge thought that was a good idea because Murry had concealed his grooming of a child victim.

In a 6-1 decision Friday, the state Supreme Court said the lifetime waiver of Murry’s Fourth Amendment rights was unreasonable in light of his background and the facts of his case. The justices ordered a new sentencing hearing.

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