SEARCH AND SEIZURE
A REASONABLE TEST
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Search and Seizure
Redding v. Stafford United School District (2009)
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
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 secondguess
• 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 63 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 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, 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?