On December 21, 1911, Fremont Weeks, an employee of the Adams Express Company, was arrested while on the job at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. Police suspected that Weeks was selling and "transmitting chances" in a lottery, which at the time was considered gambling, an illegal action in Missouri. While Weeks was being held at…

This study examined federal and state court decisions related to student Fourth Amendment rights following the "New Jersey v. T.L.O." ruling in 1985. There has been minimal research in judicial treatment of students' Fourth Amendment rights across regions of the country and less to what extent regional rulings implicitly or explicitly…

In light of the dramatic increase in the presence of weapons, violence, drugs, and other contraband in schools, school officials in the United States and England face significant challenges as they seek to maintain safe and orderly learning environments. Almost twenty five years after the United States Supreme Court's 1985 ruling in "New…

Because school lockers are potential hiding places for weapons and drugs, some schools are eliminating them. Searching student lockers on a random basis raises legal questions. Examines the legality of random locker searches based upon the guidelines for student searches set forth by the Supreme Court in "New Jersey v. T.L.O." and lower…

In "New Jersey v. T.L.O.," the Supreme Court determined that public school searches must meet a two-pronged reasonableness standard. Search must be "justified at its inception" and be "reasonably related in scope to the circumstances." Examines factors that courts have found important in applying the T.L.O. standard.…

In DesRoches v Caprio, federal district court ruled in favor of Jim DesRoches who had decided not to consent to a search of his backpack for a pair of allegedly stolen sneakers. Judge Robert G. Doumar decided the need to find the stolen sneakers did not outweigh the students' privacy interest and offered guidelines about school searches for stolen…

Reviews 18 criminal cases decided by state appellate courts that have applied standards set forth by U.S. Supreme Court in "New Jersey v. T.L.O" which defined extent to which public school officials could constitutionally search students and their property. Contends Supreme Court made it possible for state courts to practically expunge…

Discusses the importance of drug-testing policies for educators by analyzing the recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal's decision in "Knox v. Knox." Concludes that mandatory drug testing for educators in safety-sensitive positions will not infringe on the constitutional rights of school employees. (Contains 30 footnotes.) (MLF)

In 1985, the United States Supreme Court, in "New Jersey v. T.L.O.," held that the Fourth Amendment applies to searches and seizures conducted by public school administrators. This paper discusses the current state of Fourth Amendment law with regard to public school searches and seizures. Among the subtopics discussed are the following:…

Comments on an article in the Summer 1992 issue of this journal (EJ 454 315) in which Professor J. M. Sanchez examined 18 decisions regarding student searches and concluded that the "T.L.O." decision made it possible to practically expunge the Fourth Amendment from American public schools. Introduces article by Lawrence Rossow (EA 530…

In contrast with J. M. Sanchez's article in the Summer 1992 issue of this journal, suggests that the "T.L.O." decision marks the full-fledged beginning, not the virtual end, of Fourth Amendment privacy rights of students. (MLF)

Addresses the Fourth Amendment constitutional challenges facing high school student-athlete drug testing programs and applies the findings in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the "Vernonia versus Acton" case, the first drug-testing case involving high school student athletes to be decided by the Court, by recommending 12 safeguards…

Discusses federal district court decision dismissing suit brought by three Texas high school students claiming that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when police, at request of administrators, entered school and rounded up, handcuffed, and detained them and 11 other students who "hung out" with a student arrested…

How the law deals with the question of "Should students have rights in school?" is examined. One specific area of possible rights in schools--the question of searches of students by school officials--is discussed in depth. (RM)

Reactions to the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and debate over the president's replacement nomination, Judge John Roberts, Jr., of the D.C. Circuit, dominated this summer's Supreme Court recess. Subsequently, after Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death on September 3, 2005, President Bush nominated Roberts for the chief justice…