New Jersey v. T.L.O By Luke Wills and Caroline Weschler

What are the Origins of the Case?

T.L.O- Terry

Assistant Principal Choplick accuses her of smoking in the bathroom, searches her purse

Finds cigarettes, marijuana, and a list of people who owe T.L.O money

She argues that the search was unreasonable and that it violated the fourth amendment

Which Amendments Apply?

4th Amendment:“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”

What is the Constitutional Question?

Does the exclusionary rule apply to searches conducted by school officials in public schools?

exclusionary rule- if the search violates the constitution, anything found cannot be put into evidence

How does the Supreme Court decide the issue?

Supreme Court decides school does have reasonable cause to search her purse

6 Judges agree with this decision, 3 disagree

Quotation

Dissent

“Today’s decision sanctions school officials to conduct full scale searches on a reasonableness standard whose only definite content is that it is not the same test as the ‘probable cause’ standard found in the text of the fourth amendment." -- Justice Marshall

Probable Cause vs. Reasonable Suspicion

Probable Cause- officials must have significant facts and circumstances to believe evidence will be found if location is searched

Reasonable Suspicion- if there seems to be a reason a person is engaging in illegal activity, the official can investigate

Did the court overturn a previous decision or set a new precedent?

Overturns decision of NJ Supreme Court

NJ Supreme Court- decided that search was not reasonable, and that school officials and law enforcement officers should have same standard

How does the court interpret the rights implied or enumerated in the Constitution to come to their decision?

Schools can have lower threshold of reasonableness than law enforcement officers because they need to maintain good learning environment

Works Cited

"NEW JERSEY v. T.L.O." The Oyez Project. IIT Chicago- Kent College of Law, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1983/1983_83_712>.

"New Jersey v. T.L.O." Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/469/325>.

Definitions Of Probable Cause vs. Reasonable Suspicion." The Law Dictionary. Black's Law Dictionary Free, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://thelawdictionary.org/article/definitions-of-probable-cause-vs-reasonable-suspicion/>.