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SEARCH AND SEIZURE A REASONABLE TEST Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
SEARCH AND SEIZURE
A REASONABLE TEST
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Redding v. Stafford United School District (2009)
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Search and Seizure
Background Story
• Savana Redding (13 years old)
• Zero tolerance drug policy
• Accused of giving others prescription drug
• Vice principal searches backpack
• No pills found
Background Story• Strip searched down to
underwear
• Had to shake out bra and underwear
• No pills
• Humiliation and lawsuit
Background Story
Fourth Amendments Rights:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Legal Problem
• Were Savana’s Fourth Amendment rights violated?
• Can schools strip search for drugs?
Arguments for Redding
• No evidence of dangerous concealed drugs
• Invasion of young girl unreasonable
• Inability to return to school
• Zero tolerance went too far
Arguments for School
• Can act on school policies
• Objectively reasonable- area can conceal
• Reduced privacy in schools
• Uphold policies as they occur
• Cannot act if afraid of lawsuit
Outcome• Supreme Court ruled 8-1 for
Savanna
• Constitutional rights violated
• Officials went too far (quantum leap)
• No danger
• Unreasonable
Outcome
• One dissenting vote
• Judges should not second-guess
• Ruling vague about drug searches– Specific accusations– Danger of drugs
SEARCH AND SEIZURE
A REASONABLE TEST
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
New Jersey
v.
T.L.O. (1985)
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Background Story
• Girl caught smoking (T.L.O.)
• Denied she had been smoking
• Searched purse
• Found cigarettes and more
Background Story
• Was dealing in school
• Police brought charges
• T.L.O. confessed
• Appealed conviction
Background Story
• Argued search was illegal
• Argued confession was invalid
• Appealed to the Supreme Court
Background Story
Fourth Amendment Rights:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Legal Problem
• Do students have the same Fourth Amendment rights as adults?
• Was the principal’s search unreasonable?
• Should the evidence have been thrown out?
Arguments for T.L.O.
• School officials cannot act like parents
• Must respect student right to privacy
• No warrant-no probable cause
• Unreasonable search led to confession
≠
Arguments for New Jersey
• Schools can act in place of parents
• Schools have broad powers
• T.L.O.’s behavior gave reasonable cause
=
Outcome
• Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of New Jersey
• Officials must maintain school discipline
Outcome
• Search can be reasonable without probable cause
• Metal detectors and protective searches now allowed
SEARCH AND SEIZURE
A REASONABLE TEST
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Present Day Realities
Judging the Fourth Amendment
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Fourth AmendmentThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Background Story
• Constitution over 220 years old
• Colonists wanted:– A castle and a fortress
– Limits and definitions
Background Story
Our Founding Fathers could not have predicted:• Terrorism• Drugs• Social media and Internet• Organized crime• School shootings• Mass media and electronics• Over 300 million people
Asking Fourth Amendment Questions
• What can police do?
– Police officer stops a car
– Pat someone down for
suspicious behavior
– Park or open field
Asking Fourth Amendment Questions
• Searches a friend at a house
• Searches garbage can on the curb
• Taps someone’s phone line
• Searches Facebook
Asking Fourth Amendment Questions
• Reads school Internet or emails
• Profiles person from known terrorist country
Asking Fourth Amendment Questions
• Search someone’s computer files
• Search at a border crossing
Asking Fourth Amendment Questions
• Search a non-English speaking person
• Put a GPS tracker on a car?
Asking More Fourth Amendment Questions
• Can parents put a GPS tracker on their children’s cars?
Asking More Fourth Amendment Questions
• Can a school system tag certain words such as suicide or drugs or hit list on its computer server and identify students who write about these topics?
• Does the school have the right to check the context of how the words are being used
Asking More Fourth Amendment Questions
• Can government officials read someone’s email?
• Can evidence obtained, without a warrant, be used against a person at a trial?
Asking More Fourth Amendment Questions
• Can evidence be used at a trial if the defendant gave permission for a search without a warrant?
• What questions would you want answered if a police officer breaks into your bedroom and takes your journals?
Asking More Fourth Amendment Questions
• How important in today’s society is it to protect Fourth Amendment rights?
• Who is responsible for the protection afforded under the Fourth Amendment if it is important? Is enough being done?
Asking More Fourth Amendment Questions
• What can you do to protect your rights?
