Unreasonable Searches In Schools Case Brief

In school student rights can be limited. There are several court cases that cover these rights. Here are a couple of them.
Unreasonable Searches & Seizures-
In the New Jersey v. T.L.O. case, T.LO. and her friend were accused by a teacher for smoking in the bathroom. Her friend admitted to, but T.L.O kept denying it. The teacher brought her purse to the principal, and the principal demanded to see her purse. Proof that T.LO. was selling drugs was found. They took it to the police and she finally committed to selling marijuana. The state of New Jersey brought charges against her. In court she argued that the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches had been violated. In juvenile court they sided with the school and then in New Jersey Supreme Court they said the search was unreasonable. The case was then taken to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that “the school had met a ‘reasonableness’ standard for for conducting such searches at school”. It was also decided that “school administrators do not need a search warrant or probable cause before conducting a search because students have a reduced expectation of privacy when in school”.
Des Moines Independent School District case John and Mary Beth Tinker and their friend Chris Eckhardt wore black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam. The school officials told them to take them off. When they refused they were suspended. Their parents sued the school for a violation of their First Amendment right of freedom of speech. When taken to the Supreme Court they sided with the students. The Court said that students and teachers “don’t shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate”. While students do still have the right to self expression, the school can still do what it needs to if the act disrupts classwork and the students around