Balancing Individual Rights and Society's Interests: A Constitutional Perspective

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The Constitution of the United States, grants each citizen with personal property rights under the 4th Amendment. Our courts systems have upheld these rights time and time again when persons or organizations have tried to usurp these rights away from different groups and individuals. The same systems that have given, and upheld our individual rights seek to balance that with the rights of society and the rights of the group. Traditionaly court cases have followed a common sense approach, and have succeeded in balancing the rights of individuals with that of the group. Our court systems use strict scrutiny and procedures that maximize fairness among all groups and individuals. That is after all our societies goal, is to allow maximum personal …show more content…

TORT and personal liability claims can be levied against individuals that deny a person their rights. Most school officials are protected by qualified immunity. This can be lost if procedures and policy are not followed at all times. This can be a difficult task if administrators and teachers do not stay abreast with current education law.
Improper search and seizure violates an individual’s 4th Amendment rights to security of person, property and privacy. Riley v. California 573 U.S. (2014).
The court ruled that cellular phones are protected from unreasonable searches because they are computers and could possess vast amounts of personal data. This is the first time the court has ruled on privacy rights to virtual data on a physical device. This has vast implications for police and public school administrators. Cell phones are one of the biggest distractors in public schools and the misuse of these devices leads to the principal’s office. With logical and reasonable suspension and causations a search within the proper scope can be appropriate. Just as with police officers an administrator must know their boundaries and always have proper and clear justification. An improper search would be a TORT claim waiting to happen. The result of which could be criminal charges or monetary fines. Safford Unified School Dist. #1 v.

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