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…

The National School Safety Center pegs the number of gun-toting U.S. students at 100,000. Unless metal detectors are employed as part of a carefully thought-out school safety plan, their use is likely to be ineffective, controversial, and a legal minefield. Random student searches are becoming common. A sidebar describes a Washington, D.C., junior…

Sets out the legal standard to which school officials must adhere in conducting a search of students or their belongings. Offers some suggestions for school newspaper editors regarding their role in seeing that these guidelines are followed. (SR)

In "New Jersey v. T.L.O." (1985), the U.S. Supreme Court reduced the evidentiary standard applying to search and seizure by school officials from "probable cause" to "reasonable suspicion." However, search of students should be done only when absolutely necessary (for safety or "order" reasons), and a…

Examines Fourth Amendment legal issues involved in drug testing of public employees. Discusses several recent court cases involving probable cause and reasonable suspicion to determine appropriate standards for individual situations. Outlines implications for public employers. Blanket drug testing is not permissable, though job applicants have…

Explores issues related to legal considerations of the widespread use of the Internet worldwide. Topics considered include: e-mail; data theft and piracy; search and seizure; electronic banking; offensive behavior; liability; copyright infringement; laws regulating the Internet; and the Telecommunications Act. (PEN)

Describes a Circuit Court of Appeals case concerning a middle school principal who was unfairly fired after making a controversial speech on inadequate school finances. Describes a search and seizure case involving a student's possession of a gun and drugs on campus. Urges school boards to know the law before taking action. (MLH)

In a Georgia case involving a strip-searched class of fifth- graders to locate some missing money ($26), a Federal Court judge concluded the searches were unreasonable. Although students won the constitutionality battle, they lost the war over liability and injunctive relief in a subsequent decision. (MLH)

Regarding school searches, courts have provided guidelines balancing individual students' rights against the larger school community's rights. Administrators are bound by the Fourth Amendment, which stresses reasonable grounds of suspicion and related circumstances. Strip searches, metal detectors, hidden cameras, and locker searches may meet…

Discusses two recent court cases highlighting the legal pitfalls facing mandatory drug testing programs for teachers and students. In both cases, the courts contended that blanket testing policies violated Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Testing of individual teachers and students (under reasonable suspicion) may…

Every year, a few administrators mishandle school searches and create spectacles similar to the New Castle, Pennsylvania, incident involving six illegally strip-searched students. Principals using "cops-and-robber" techniques to unearth contraband may not realize the potential for infringing on students' constitutional privacy rights.…

Discusses case law regarding schools and strip searches of students, and offers five generalizations regarding the matter. (SR)

Presents an essay examining homeless shelter residents' freedom from unreasonable searches. Reviews the historical background of the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable search and seizure. Explores factors considered when determining what is "reasonable." Analyzes the concepts of standing, what constitutes a home, and consent.…

In examining student searches from a critical theory perspective, one considers who is being searched, who does the searching and by what authority, and how searching reinforces existing power structures. This article addresses these questions and related concepts (discipline, criminal/deviant behavior, punishment, and rehabilitation) by applying…

In recent years, public school students have been searched with metal detectors and occasionally sniffed by dogs or strip searched. Their lockers and bookbags have been searched, and their urine has been tested for drugs--all in the name of school safety. This article explores the legal ramifications of such searches and calls for a critical…