DUE PROCESS
RESPECTING OUR RIGHTS
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Due Process- Respecting our Rights
Board of Education, School District
No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v.
Earls, Lindsay, et. al. (2011)
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Background Story
• “Student Activities Drug
Testing Policy”
• Participation in extracurriculars
means random drug tests
• Must sign off on policy
• Lindsay Earls challenged policy
in court
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
• Is random drug testing
unconstitutional?
• Does the school need probable
cause to test students in
extracurricular activities?
• Can a student be forced to
submit to random testing as a
condition of participation?
Legal Problem
• Is the intrusion too
significant?
• Does a school restrict a
student’s rights because of
such a policy?
• Does this policy effectively
serve the school’s interest in
protecting a student’s safety
and health?
Arguments in Favor of Earls
• Fourth Amendment
protection
• No right for mandatory,
baseless urinalysis
• Due process is being
denied
Arguments in Favor of the School
• School’s right to prevent drug
use
• Diminished expectation of
privacy for students
• Participation is not mandatory
• Participation = acceptance of
drug policy
Outcome
• Federal District Court
ruled for the school
• 10th Circuit Court of
Appeals reversed the
decision
• U.S. Supreme Court
ruled 5-4 for the school
Outcome
• Serves the school’s need
to prevent drug use
• Students have limited
privacy
• Taking urine samples is
minimally intrusive
DUE PROCESS
RESPECTING OUR RIGHTS
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Let’s Add Due Process to the Test
Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause:
“…nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; …”
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Let’s Add Due Process to the Test
• Policy is constitutional
• Search and seizure is
constitutional
• Still must get fair
hearing (due process) to
tell one’s side of the
story
Let’s Add Due Process to the Test
• What due process rights
do students have before
schools punish or
dismiss them for
disciplinary or academic
reasons?
Let’s Add Due Process to the Test
Two types:
•
Substantive due processSchools cannot infringe
on fundamental
Constitutional liberties
•
Procedural due processSchools are limited on
how a law is
administered, applied, or
enforced. Policies must
be fairly applied.
Let’s Add Due Process to the Test
Balancing test for substantive and
procedural due process- Three factors
1. Was a student given a fair hearing?
Did a student get a chance to tell his
side of the story?
Let’s Add Due Process to the Test
2. Did the student have more rights taken away because
of the procedures used? For example, was a student’s
drug test announced to the whole school, thus going
beyond the policy’s purpose?
Let’s Add Due Process to the Test
3. Is the burden for the school
to supply due process
beyond reasonable
expectations?
DUE PROCESS
RESPECTING OUR RIGHTS
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Due Process - Respecting our Rights
Historical Case
Goss v. Lopez (1975)
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Background Story
• Protesting the Vietnam
War at Central High
School
• School property was
damaged
• 75 students suspended
Background Story
• No hearings for suspensionsOhio law did not require
hearings
• Dwight Lopez was innocent
bystander
• No explanation for his
suspension
Background Story
• Many suspensions were for 10
days
• Parents sued
• The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled
the law was unconstitutional
• School officials appealed to U.S.
Supreme Court
Background Story
Fourteenth Amendment:
All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall
make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
Legal Problem
• Does the Fourteenth
Amendment’s Due
Process Clause extend
to students?
• Were the students’
rights to due process
violated when they were
not given a hearing
before the suspensions?
Legal Problem
• Does the school’s need
to protect students
override due process in
emergency situations
that demand swift
actions by officials?
Arguments in Favor of the School
• Schooling is a state
responsibility
• No constitutional right to
education- no right to due
process
• 10 days is not a severe loss
• Ohio law permits suspension
for misconduct
• Misconduct occurred
Arguments in Favor of Lopez
• Guaranteed free education
• Cannot withdraw education if
misconduct can’t be determined
• 10-day suspension is dangerous
and severe punishment
Arguments in Favor of Lopez
• Notify students of rules
they are breaking
• Confront their accusers
• Due process protects all
citizens- students
included
Outcome
• Supreme Court rules 5-4 for
students
• Students are citizensdeserve protection
• Arbitrary suspensionsunconstitutional
• 10-day suspension- deprives
“life, liberty, or property”
Outcome
Dissenting justices:
• Suspensions are “insignificant
infringement of education.”
• Different rights and duties
between adults and children
• Discipline is part of
functioning school
DUE PROCESS
RESPECTING OUR RIGHTS
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Present Day Realities
Judging the Fourteenth Amendment
Created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Background Story
Fourteenth Amendment:
All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall
make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
Background Story
• 14th Amendment was
added to Constitution in
1868
• A Reconstruction
Amendment (added
after Civil War)
Background Story
• Citizenship ClauseRights of an American
• Equal Protection
Clause- all citizens
• Due Process Clauseenforcing legal rights
owed to all citizens
Background Story
•
Constitution- rigid but
not stagnant
•
Over 200 years- 17
more Amendments
after the Bill of Rights
•
Government powersonly those granted in
Constitution
Background Story
• Government makes
decisions how to carry out
granted powers“Reasonable Construction”
• Decisions not easy
• Right and wrong not
always clear
Asking Fourteenth Amendment
Questions
• Who is protected by due
process?
• Does it protect
immigrants? Should it?
Asking Fourteenth Amendment
Questions
• What is an impartial due
process hearing?
• If you are going to be
suspended or expelled
from school, should
administrators only be
making the decision as
they hear your case?
Due Process Questions
• Should the government
provide lawyers during
due rights hearings to
the person whose rights
are being questioned?
• Should terrorism
suspects, such as those
at Guantanamo Bay,
have due rights
protection?
Asking Fourteenth Amendment
Questions
• What procedures should
be required before a
student be dismissed for
academic failure?
Asking Fourteenth Amendment
Questions
• Should due process be
applied when interviewing
for a job, college admission,
or scholarship aid, especially
if you are turned down?
• Should you be told why?
Asking Fourteenth Amendment
Questions
• Can you be dismissed
from a job without due
process?
Due Process Questions
• The Patriot Act is a law
passed to prevent and
punish terrorist acts
against the United States
by letting law enforcement
have extra powers.
• Is the Patriot Act in
conflict with due process
in any way?
Asking Fourteenth Amendment
Questions
• Due process supporters
often contend it is better
to let 10 guilty people
go than convict one
innocent person. How
do you respond to this
statement?
Asking Fourteenth Amendment
Questions
• Are your due process
rights denied if you sit
in the office during a
class because you are
misbehaving?