New Jersey Vs Tlo Case Study

New Jersey v. T.L.O.
Citation
New Jersey v. T.L.O. 469 U.S. 325
105 S. Ct. 733; 83 L. Ed. 2d 720; 1985 U.S. LEXIS 41; 53 U.S.L.W. 4083
Facts
A teacher at a New Jersey high school, found the respondent, T.L.O. a 14-year-old freshman, and another student smoking cigarettes in a school bathroom. As this was a violation of school rules, the teacher brought the two students to the Principal's office. The Assistant Vice Principal then questioned the respondent and she denied she was smoking in the bathroom and claimed that she did not smoke at all. The Assistant Vice Principal then asked to see her purse. When he opened her purse, the Assistant Vice Principal found a package of cigarettes and rolling papers that are typically used for smoking

marijuana. As the Assistant Vice Principal continued to his exploration of the purse he discovered marijuana, plastic bags, a substantial amount of money, a pipe, a list of students who owed the respondent money, as well as two letters referencing her dealing marijuana.
Issues
• Was the search and seizure in this case a violation of the Fourth Amendment?

• Does the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures apply to searches conducted by public school officials?
Rulings
The State of New Jersey charged the respondent in Juvenile Court with delinquency. The respondent motioned to suppress the evidence in her pursue. The Juvenile Court denied her motion because the Fourth Amendment permits searches by school official, due to reasonably specific suspicion. The respondent was found to be delinquent by the Juvenile Court.
The respondent appealed the Juvenile Court decision to the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. The Appellate Division agreed with the lower court’s decision that there was no Fourth Amendment violation, but dismissed the delinquency verdict and incarcerated the respondent on other grounds.
The respondent appealed the Appellate Division verdict to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The New Jersey Supreme court overturned the Appellate Division decision and ordered the evidence discovered in the respondents pursue to be suppressed because the respondents Fourth Amendment rights had been violated by an unwarranted search and seizure by the Assistant Vice

Principal.
The State of New Jersey appealed the New Jersey Supreme Court decision to the Supreme Court of the United States. In a 6-3 decision in favor of the State of New Jersey, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that school did not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of the student and that school had a “reasonable suspicion” to perform the search of the student. The student’s possession of cigarettes was relevant to her being truthful, and since she had just been discovered in the bathroom by the teacher, it was reasonable to assume she had the cigarettes in her purse. Therefore, the Assistant Vice Principal had reasonable cause to search the purse for cigarettes. Consequently, as the Assistant Vice Principal was looking for cigarettes, the drug related material was found in plain view. Being in plain view is an exception to the requirement of a warrant of the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling.
Conclusion
As an administrator of a school it is imperative to follow the conditions that the Supreme Court with precedent set in New Jersey v. T.L.O. First, the school must have a reasonable specific suspicion for searching the student. Secondly, when performing a random search, it must be done for a specific reason; such as drugs (Alexander & Alexander, 2012, p. 462). At Portage High School, we perform random searches twice per school year with the assistance of the county drug task force and K-9 unit. If the dogs from the K-9 unit “hits” on a locker, the student is brought from class and is present when the school administration searches their belongings. The specific purpose of these searches is for drugs and tobacco; thus, the school complies with second condition of the precedent set in New Jersey v. T.L.O.
In conclusion, a couple weeks ago, a student was discovered to be chewing tobacco in a class. The student was brought into the office, and asked if he had any tobacco or anything not permissible on school grounds; he denied having anything. The Assistant Principal, then asked him to empty his pockets; and the first thing the student pulls out of his pocket is a bag of marijuana. Local law enforcement was contacted and he was turned over to his parents after receiving a citation. There is additional school consequence the student faces including possible expulsion. Again, the search was done due to reasonable specific suspicion and did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights.