PORTLAND (AP) – A federal judge said he will rule within a few weeks on whether to accept a proposed $3.3 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit by people who were strip-searched at the York County Jail between 1996 and 2004.

Some of those who were forced to remove their clothing before being searched at the jail in Alfred attended a hearing Monday before Judge D. Brock Hornby as he considered one of Maine’s largest civil rights settlements ever.

While some of the 1,350 people who stand to share in the settlement expressed relief that the case appears to be resolved, Margaret Hand said money was not her only concern and she would want most of all to get an apology.

“For me, it was more about healing,” said Hand, whose share of the settlement would be $2,800. “What I most want is a sincere apology, and that is what I am most unlikely to get.”

Hand said she was traumatized by the search, which occurred after she was arrested in 2001 for disorderly conduct when she objected to her truck being towed. The charges were eventually dropped.

The lawsuit contended that the York County Sheriff’s Department broke the law by requiring all persons brought to the jail to strip and shower in front of an officer – no matter how minor the charge brought against them.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers had estimated that as many as 7,500 people could be eligible for payments, but fewer than one-fifth that number came forward.

Under the proposed settlement, the county agreed to change its search policy by giving detainees a place behind an opaque glass screen to change into jail uniforms. People arrested for violent felonies, drug offenses and weapons charges are still subject to full strip searches.

The county also agreed to pay money to the class members, but did not acknowledge any pattern of constitutional violations.

York County agreed to settle the case because its size and complexity would have made it expensive to litigate, said county lawyer Peter Marchesi.

Jail officials contended that the searches, conducted by guards of the same sex, were not technically strip-searches because they did not always include body cavity inspections.

An agreement reached between the two sides in December received preliminary approval, and Hornby’s decision would be the final step toward compensating the class members. Women would receive $2,800 payments and men would get $1,400.

The lawsuit was filed by Michelle Nilsen of North Andover, Mass.