College students who reside in campus dormitories at public universities have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their dorm rooms that is protected by the fourth amendment; and officials cannot search these rooms for law enforcement purposes without a valid warrant. Non-students, however, have no such reasonable expectation of privacy in…

Courts have long held that public school teachers are "state actors" when they carry out the duties of their job. Despite this, very few teacher preparation programs include an education law class. In order to understand teachers' legal literacy, a survey was given to 300 public school teachers in Indiana. The survey assessed knowledge…

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…

Strip searches should be considered searches of last resort based on the intrusive nature of the search and the resulting impact it may have on a student. It is well established by the courts that as the intrusiveness of the search intensifies, the standard of the Fourth Amendment reasonably approaches probable cause which is a higher standard…

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…

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the people of the United States from unreasonable searches and seizures. On first reading, these protections seem clearly defined. The amendment was meant to protect Americans from the kinds of random searches and seizures that the colonists experienced under British colonial rule. Under…

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution provides protection of all citizens against unreasonable search and seizure. The US Supreme Court has affirmed that the basic purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to safeguard the privacy and security of individuals against unreasonable intrusive searches by governmental officials. Since students possess…

The Supreme Court has issued only one decision on a case involving the rights of public school students to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Court's decision, while resolving the crucial issue of the appropriate standard for assessing student searches, left a number of important questions wholly unanswered. (IAH)

Presents divergent opinions of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (for the plurality), Justice Antonin Scalia, and Justice Harry Blackmun in the Supreme Court decision to return the case of "O'Connor v. Ortega" (questioning the constitutionality of searching a public employee's office) to the district court. O'Connor rejected the notion that…

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)

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)

After being accused of sexually harassing a student, a high school math teacher in New York was suspended with pay pending an impartial hearing. The district allowed the teacher to return to his classroom to collect his personal effects, which he had kept in boxes, desk drawers, and three filing cabinets, one of which was locked. He did not…

One of the most controversial federal acts providing for random administrative searches is the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA). The author reviews the search and seizure law and concludes that abandonment of Fourth Amendment rights should not be predicated on the mere convenience of even a justifiable regulatory scheme. (JT)

Discusses how to determine whether a school-related search is reasonable. Suggests 10 guidelines to avoid suits over illegal searches. Recommends that school authorities exercise extreme care to protect themselves against suits alleging Constitutional violations. (MS)