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Interpreting Rules for the Nation

Interpreting Rules for the Nation. M ake a list of everything they have with them in class, including items they have on their person or in their backpacks. . Discuss:. Are there any items on this list you would not want your teacher to see?

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Interpreting Rules for the Nation

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  1. Interpreting Rules for the Nation

  2. Make a list of everything they have with them in class, including items they have on their person or in their backpacks.

  3. Discuss: • Are there any items on this list you would not want your teacher to see? • Are items in your backpack private? Why or why not? • Are items on your person private? Why or why not? • Do you think your teacher should have the right to search you? Why or why not?

  4. Look at the Bill of Rights: • Can you find any language that you think protects you from a search in this case? If so, where? • What does the Fourth Amendment specifically protect? • Should it matter that you are under 18? Why or why not? • Should it matter where you are—in school, at home, outside? Why or why not?

  5. Should it matter if the teacher suspects that you might have an object that could harm other students? Why or why not? • Is your right not to be searched more important than the rights of other students to be safe? • Who should decide the answers to these questions?

  6. Judicial Powers • Judicial Branch • Unreasonable searches • Precedent - a standard for later courts to use when deciding new cases

  7. New Jersey v. T.L.O. (U.S. Supreme Court, 1985)

  8. Facts: A fourteen-year-old student with the initials T.L.O. was suspected of smoking cigarettes with another student in the girls’ bathroom at her high school. Both girls were brought to the principal’s office by a teacher. When questioned by the principal, T.L.O. denied smoking and said that she did not smoke cigarettes at all. The other girl confessed and was told to leave. The principal then looked inside T.L.O.’s purse, where he observed a pack of cigarettes. He continued searching and found rolling papers. He then opened a zipper compartment inside T.L.O.’s purse, where he found marijuana in small baggies, a roll of cash, and a list of names of people who owed T.L.O. money. T.L.O. was arrested for selling drugs. In juvenile court, she challenged the principal’s search as a violation of her Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

  9. Do you agree with? “The principal’s search of the student’s backpack was unconstitutional.”

  10. Do you think students have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding the belongings they bring to school? Why or why not? • Do you think it was reasonable for the principal to look inside T.L.O.’s purse? Why or why not? • Once the principal observed cigarettes and rolling papers in T.L.O.’s purse, was it reasonable for him to continue looking through her bag? Why or why not? Does it matter what the principal observed in the backpack? What if it were illegal drugs? Or a gun?

  11. Does it matter what the principal searches? What if a student is strip- searched? • Does it matter that the person being searched is a minor? • Does it matter that the search takes place within a school?

  12. Holding of TLO • the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment applies to high school students, who have a “reasonable expectation of privacy” overtheirbags and belongings because they have to carry many personal items with them. • Applying the rule to T.L.O.’s case, the Court found that the initial search of T.L.O.’s purse was reasonable because the principal had reasonable suspicion that T.L.O. had violated the school’s rules on smoking. • The further search of her bag was justified when he discovered her cigarettes, and the search of the inside compartment was justified based on his observation of the rolling papers. As a result, there was no violation of T.L.O.’s Fourth Amendment rights. • What does the holding mean in terms of students’ expectations of privacy?

  13. Read Handout 22

  14. Discussion • What did the two cases illustrate about interpreting the Constitution? • What connections can you make between interpreting the rules of the nation and interpreting the rules at your school? • What we determine to be unreasonable or disruptive can be a matter of interpretation. Why is that important to know when you enter the field of law and law enforcement?

  15. Judicial Review The process of when a court reviews a case

  16. Discussion • What happens if the court decides a law or policy is unconstitutional? • What are some of the advantages of the judicial review process? • What are some of the disadvantages?

  17. Homework Journal 2 (last page handout 3)

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