NCJ Number
103076
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 76 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1985) Pages: 898-932
Date Published
1985
Length
35 pages
Annotation
In New Jersey v. T.L.O., the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of the fourth amendment's bearing on searches conducted by school officials.
Abstract
In this case, a 14-year-old girl's purse was searched by the assistant principal following an allegation that the girl had been smoking in the lavatory. The search revealed the girl's possession of rolling papers and marijuana and eventually led to delinquency charges. In its decision, the Court did not apply the traditional probable cause standard, but rather announced a new standard derived by balancing the school official's interest in maintaining an educational environment against the student's expectation of privacy. This balancing test departs from the long-prevailing view that probable cause embodies the best compromise for accommodating the often opposing interests in safeguarding citizens from unreasonable searches with those of protecting the community. Although the Court has recognized a few exceptions to the probable cause requirements, none of these covers a full-scale search to discover evidence of a minor school violation. This unprecedented exception to the requirement will cause confusion among both school administrators and courts and lead to unjustified searches of students. Further, the exception is unnecessary in that the traditional fourth amendment standard protects both the school's interest in preserving the educational environment and the student's expectations of privacy. 187 notes.