New+Jersey+v.+TLO



Where: Piscataway High School in Middlesex County, NJ When: March 7, 1980 What: A teacher found two fourteen-year-old girls smoking in a bathroom. The girls were taken to the Principal's office, where they were brought in front of the Assistant Vice Principal, Theodore Choplick. One girl admitted to smoking. The other, T.L.O., denied that she had been smoking at all. Mr. Choplick asked to see her purse, and found a pack of cigarettes. He also noticed a package of cigarette rolling papers, which led him to suspect the use of marijuana. Based on this suspicion, he searched the rest of T.L.O.’s purse- finding a small amount of marijuana, a pipe, empty plastic bags, money in one-dollar bills, letters, and an index card with a list of people who owed her money. T.L.O., based on this evidence, was put before the police, where she confessed her involvement in the sale of marijuana at her school. She was brought in front of the Juvenile Court in New Jersey, who denied her motion to suppress the evidence in her purse (she argued Fourth Amendment Violation), and she as sentenced to 1 year of probation. Here, the appeals began, and the case reached the Supreme Court. (see chart above)

The incident of the two girls smoking in the bathroom took place on March 7th, 1980. On march 23rd, 1981 the Juvenile Court of New Jersey found her guilty of drug dealing and consumption, and she was qualified as a delinquent. By the time this judgement was appealed by the U.S. Supreme Court, it was the year of 1985.

T.L.O. felt that her 4th Amendment rights, search and seizure, were violated when the assistant Vice Principle searched her purse without a warrant or probable cause instead they had reasonable suspicion that there were cigarettes in the bag. while looking through her bag Mr. Choplick, the assistant Vice Principal, saw materials usually associated with drug use, so with a further search they found a small amount of marijuana and objects associated with selling drugs. The 14th Amendment was put together with the 4th Amendment, right to fair trial, due process, T.L.O tried to get the evidence found in her purse unusable. The school felt that they had the right to search her purse because of the 10th Amendment because the power is given to the state. The decision of the U.S supreme court ruled that T.L.O’s 4th amendment rights were not violated, and that the evidence was able to be used in case. It was in accordance to the juvenile court and the appellate court. Although this decision was reversed compared to the Supreme Court of NJ. The supreme court of NJ said that her rights were violated and because of that the evidence found could be used in trial. The supreme court of the nation revered that fact on the grounds stated was that their was probable cause for suspicion and that if there is probable cause a search can be conducted. The vote in the supreme court was 6 to 3 in favor of the school. "Today's decision sanctions school officials to conduct fullscale searches on a 'reasonableness' standard whose only definite content is that it is not the same test as the 'probable cause' standard found in the text of the Fourth Amendment. In adopting this unclear, unprecedented, and unnecessary departure from generally applicable Fourth Amendment standards, the Court carves out a broad exception to standards that this Court has developed over years of considering Fourth Amendment problems. Its decision is supported neither by precedent nor even by a fair application of the 'Balancing test of power' it proclaims in this very opinion." []

Majority View:
 * the school was allowed to search due to reasonable suspicion
 * The cigarettes were in plain view and plain view is the condition on which a warrant is not needed to search an individuals belongings.
 * When the cigarettes were found it warranted a further search which then revealed cigarette rolling papers, a small bag of marijuana, and a list of people who owed her money.

Dissenting View:
 * T.L.O.'s 4th amendment was violated because the school searched her purse without her permission.
 * Probable cause was not established and probable cause should be the standard set for searches that are performed in a school setting.