N.J vs. T.L.O --> A question of privacy in schools

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Sakura

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Original poster
[DASH="#fff0033"]N.J vs. T.L.O -
Landmark Supreme Court Case of 1984
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This is the introductory video I made for a group project at school (:

I did the video && a powerpoint while my partner did the research paper ;D
(I totally loved doing the graphics/visual end of the project~ as you will see in the vid x)


Watch the video, read the info, && I wanna hear what you think!




A pack of cigarettes & some marihuana was found in T.L.O's purse.

T.L.O fought for her right to her privacy. She alleged that the Vice Principal, as per the Fourth Amendment, did not have the right to search her property.

The school officials argued that they need the broad power in order to control student conduct and the safety of the school. They claimed that their suspicions were reasonable enough to search her purse.


The supreme court decided that going through TLO's purse was not a violation of her 4th amendment because the purse was in "plain view" and the assistant vice principal, Theodore Choplick had already caught her lying about smoking in the bathroom, and had more than a suspicion that she had drugs in her purse.

Implications of the Outcome

Schools have the right to search the property of their students:
If the safety of other students is compromised
If the suspicion is reasonable enough
If the student is violating the law
If the student disrupts the school environment

Do schools need to maintain discipline for the sake of education?

Do schools have the right to search bags based on suspicion?

Do you think that the fourth amendment should protect students in schools?



 
I think schools are WELL within their rights to search your property if they have just cause. First of all, you're at SCHOOL. It's just like going to work. So you shouldn't have anything weird or illegal that doesn't belong on public property like that.

Now, I don't think teachers should go snooping through your stuff at random, or it be mandatory. That's just a crazy paranoid extreme. But if a student has been causing a problem, or if you think they might be carrying around something dangerous? Hell yeah, search them.
 
I agree with Diana.

If you go about trying to go on possibilities, you're going to cause a rift in the school.

If there is ENOUGH probable cause, and the situation allows it, then yes, search what you need to.

If not? Respect that your authority can only go so far, and if you push too hard, there will be a whiplash.

I went to a private school that was notorious for being a "Pharmacy" or a school where people could come onto campus and buy drugs off of the students.

Over half the school had ADD or ADHD.

In that case, some teachers would sometimes ask if you took medication, or if it was with you.

if you had it with you, you had to give it to the nurse, and your parents would have to pick it up.

And drug dogs would come every once in a while.

I think my school needed a little more discipline, and perhaps more searches, though most everyone turned out alright.

So I agree that in a situation where the suspicion is that the student might have something with them that is dangerous/illegal, yes, search the bags.

If not in that situation, leave the purses and bags alone. Work on the students instead, make a better student/teacher relationship, help them and talk to them.

What the argument might be against that:

It's improper, and in some cases, inappropriate for the setting.

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My argument:

1. If you know your students well enough, then you have a higher chance of knowing if they're really at risk of bringing something to school that might be illegal or dangerous.

2. Trust is raised between student and teacher, there's less of a chance that "Scholastic dominance" is pressing on your fourth amendment right.

3. It might help lessen the need to bring those sorts of items, if you know that one of your teachers can be trusted and you can just talk to them if there's a problem.

4. Bridging back on point 2, it would also help the student to see that you care, and that it isn't just a play for power.


That's my view on helping it ^.^