New Jersey v. T.L.O.
| New Jersey v. T. L. O. | |
|---|---|
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| Argued March 28, 1984 Reargued October 2, 1984 Decided January 15, 1985 |
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| Full case name | New Jersey v. T.L.O. |
| Citations | 469 U.S. 325 (more)
105 S. Ct. 733; 83 L. Ed. 2d 720; 1985 U.S. LEXIS 41; 53 U.S.L.W. 4083
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| Prior history | Defendant convicted sub. nom. State ex rel. T. L. O. 178 N.J.Super. 329, 428 A.2d 1327 (Middlesex County Ct., 1980); Affirmed 185 N.J.Super. 279, 448 A.2d 493 (App. Div., 1982); conviction reversed 94 N.J. 331, 463 A.2d 934 (1983) |
| Holding | |
| The Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures applies to searches conducted by public school officials (administrators), and the search of student's purse was reasonable. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | White, joined by Burger, Powell, Rehnquist, O'Connor |
| Concurrence | Powell, joined by O'Connor |
| Concurrence | Blackmun |
| Concur/dissent | Brennan, joined by Marshall |
| Concur/dissent | Stevens, joined by Marshall; Brennan (Part I) |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend IV | |
New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States addressing the constitutionality of a search of a public high school student for contraband after she was caught smoking. A subsequent search of her purse revealed drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and documentation of drug sales. She was charged as a juvenile for the drugs and paraphernalia found in the search. She fought the search, claiming it violated her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6–3 ruling, held that the search by the Piscataway Township Schools was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
A teacher at Piscataway High School in New Jersey, upon discovering respondent, then a 14-year-old freshman, and her companion smoking cigarettes in a school lavatory in violation of a school rule, took them to the Principal's office, where they met with the Assistant Vice Principal. When respondent, in response to the Assistant Vice Principal's questioning, denied that she had been smoking and claimed that she did not smoke at all, the Assistant Vice Principal demanded to see her purse. After TLO was forced to hand over the purse, he observed a pack of cigarettes. Assistant Vice Principal Choplick kept searching through the purse because rolling papers were in plain view, and his search revealed a small amount of marijuana, rolling papers, a pipe, empty plastic bags, a large quantity of money in $1 bills, an index card that appeared to list students who owed TLO money, and two letters that implicated TLO in dealing marijuana. The principal then called the police and the girl's mother, who voluntarily drove her to the police station. She was convicted of dealing and use of illicit drugs. She was expelled from the school and fined $1,000.
The Supreme Court of the United States, in a 6–3 decision issued by Justice White, balancing between the individual's—even a child's—legitimate expectation of privacy and the school's interest in maintaining order and discipline, held for the appellant (the state). According to school officials, they do require a "reasonable suspicion" to perform a search.
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