Develops three views of the theory underlying the probable cause requirement of the Fourth Amendment. The advantage of the approach based on the rights prohibition of violent intrusions is that it provides standards based on the individual conduct rather than on governmental acts. Available from UCLA Law Review, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles,…

Highlights some areas of Fourth Amendment doctrinal inconsistencies in Supreme Court decisions and recommends how these inconsistencies can and should be resolved. Available from School of Law, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403. (Author/IRT)

Although the law generally allows administrators to search lockers, this should not be viewed as a carte blanche right. Students do have some ownership rights, particularly with regard to other students. School officials are charged by the state with operating the schools and safeguarding the health, welfare, and safety of students and school…

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in New Jersey vs. T.L.O. suggests the legality of student searches by school officials should not depend on strict adherence to the probable cause standard, but on its reasonableness of suspicion and scope. (DCS)

In a California case involving a 16-year-old girl's possession of three knives on school grounds, both a trial and Ninth Circuit court affirmed the school vice-principal's right to search and discover these weapons while enforcing a no-smoking policy. The court lectured parents and lawyers for wasting the court's time--especially after a juvenile…

As a means of providing additional search warrant protection for the news media and others engaged in public communications, the United States Congress adopted the "Privacy Protection Act of 1980." Legal and documentary research conducted over a period of two years has revealed a potential defect of the statute relating to the court…

When Congress reasonably decides that warrantless administrative inspections are necessary to effectuate its acts, and the acts provide privacy safeguards as effective as those provided by a judicially issued administrative search warrant, Congress's decision should be respected. Available from Arkansas Law Review, School of Law, University of…

Four distinct classes of cases are the recognized exceptions to the requirement of warrants for searches: emergency inspections, plain view, consensual, and the "Colonnade-Biswell" exception for pervasively regulated industries. Available from the Ohio State University School of Law, 1659 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210; $3.50…

Noting that there are no easy answers when a photojournalist is subjected to a legal request for his or her work products from governmental officials, this paper examines how state and federal laws and court decisions have both enhanced and inhibited a photojournalist's right to protect negatives, photographs, films, and videotapes from government…

Provides educators with scenarios or hypothetical fact patterns depicting issues that have potential for litigation. (Author)

The Fourth Amendment search and seizure law is one of the most technical and difficult areas in all of law to understand. Some Fourth Amendment Supreme Court cases are discussed. (RM)

Reviews the United States Supreme Court's findings in "New Jersey vs. T.L.O.," a case hinging on the reasonableness of a school official's search of a student's purse. Cites several issues that remained unresolved after the decision and argues that the court could have been more helpful. (PGD)

Presents a lesson plan for teaching about gangs and the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Includes a handout and discussion questions and identifies sources for further reading. (SG)

Discusses how the constitutional prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure applies to searches of students and their property by school officials, as indicated by recent court decisions. Most of the cases examined were decided by state courts, since federal courts have not generally been involved in this area. (JG)

Three cases dealing with reasonable searches and the exclusionary evidence rule form the basis of a classroom moot court acitivity. (Author/KM)