法律英语：67 Student Searches in Schools

by Michael W. Flynn

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed¹ to practice in your jurisdiction². Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Today’s topic is searching juvenile³ students in a public school.

Brady wrote:

If a school teacher or administrator⁴ asks to search your backpack or bag what rights do you have assuming that you are under 18.

Thanks Brady. This question essentially⁵ asks what a juvenile student’s Fourth Amendment⁶ rights are in a public school setting.

The short answer is that juvenile students have Fourth Amendment rights, and possibly rights under a state constitution’s privacy clauses, but those rights are diminished in a school setting. Courts will weigh the student’s expectation of privacy against the school’s need to maintain a safe learning environment. A teacher may conduct the search where it is reasonable under all the circumstances, and the reasonableness standard takes many factors into consideration.

Before getting to the meat of the question of when a search at a school is reasonable, it is necessary to address two preliminary points: warrants and consent.

First, a school is not required to get a warrant to search a student. In a seminal⁷ case on juvenile searches in schools, the Supreme⁸ Court reasoned that schools need “swift and informal disciplinary procedures” in order to ensure a safe environment that is conducive⁹ to learning. The Court held that the school’s need for quick discipline would be frustrated¹⁰ if a teacher had to get a warrant every time a student needed to be searched.

Second, you may waive¹¹ your rights by consenting to a search. If you consent to a search, then anything found as a result of that search may be used against you. So, if a teacher walks up to you and asks to search your bag for no reason, and you say OK, then the teacher may search your bag. If you want to preserve your right to challenge the search, then consenting is not a good idea.

If you do not consent, then courts will look to various factors in determining whether the search on the student is reasonable. Remember that the court is looking at the student’s expectation of privacy, and weighing it against the school’s need to maintain safety and order. The school’s need to maintain safety has been dramatically increased recently because students today have greater access to guns and drugs than they have had in the past.

Normally, a court will start by looking at the circumstances that gave rise to searching the student. If a teacher sees, smells, or hears indications of rule breaking or criminal behavior, then the teacher may conduct a search that is reasonable for those circumstances. For example, the Supreme Court held that when a student was caught smoking a cigarette in a bathroom, then it was reasonable for the teacher to believe that the student had cigarettes in her pocket or purse. So, forcing the student to empty out her purse was a reasonable search.

A court will also consider how reasonable it is for the student to expect the place to be private. For example, a student reported that his radio was missing, and so a teacher patted down the outside of all the students’ coats that were hanging in an unlocked closet. When the teacher felt something hard and square in a pocket, he reached into the coat and found a gun. The search of the student’s coat was held to be reasonable in part because the student could not expect an unlocked closet to be private. Also, the teacher had a reason to search the coats: to find the missing radio.

Similarly, a New York court held that feeling the outside of a student’s cloth bag was reasonable in a case where a school security guard heard an unusually loud and metallic¹² thud when the student tossed the bag onto a metal filing cabinet. The guard ran his hands over the outside of the bag and felt a gun inside.

Courts are split over students’ lockers¹⁴. Some courts have held that a student can reasonably expect that his or her locker¹³ is secure, and that a teacher cannot search a locker without at least some concrete justification¹⁵. In a Massachusetts case, the court noted¹⁶ that the school’s rights and responsibility code expressly provided that teachers could not search lockers. So, the student reasonably expected his locker to be safe. Some courts also consider whether locks are issued by the school or whether students bring their own locks.

By contrast, a Wisconsin school district stated in its written locker policy that all lockers were subject to search by school officials at any time. The school conducted a random¹⁷ search of lockers as a preventative measure and found drugs and a gun in a locker. The court held that the student could not reasonably expect that his locker would be private because the school policy clearly indicated that the locker could be searched at any time.

As a result of cases like this, many public school districts are now writing policies that effectively tell students that their lockers are only meant to protect against searches and theft from other students, but that a teacher can search the locker at any time and for any reason—or no reason at all.

So Brady, as you can see, students have limited rights against a teacher search. Please note that these rules do not generally apply to a private or parochial school because the teachers there do not work for the government. Also, these rules change when considering adult students in a university setting.

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful¹⁸ Life. You can send questions and comments to.............. or call them in to the voice mail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

 

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

3 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

4 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

7 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

10 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

12 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

13 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

14 lockers   

n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I care about more lockers for the teachers. 我关心教师要有更多的储物柜。 来自辞典例句
• Passengers are requested to stow their hand-baggage in the lockers above the seats. 旅客须将随身携带的行李放入座位上方的贮藏柜里。 来自辞典例句

15 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

18 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。