Justice Presentation

EDUC 201

New Jersey vs T.L.O

Josie Bryant and Jaelyn Hennon.

START

Background

In the 1980s a teacher in a New Jersey school found two girls smoking in the school bathroom. After searching 14 year old T.L.O's bag the teacher found marajuana and a list of names

Timeline

Whats the Order?

March 28th, 1984

March 7th, 1980

January 15th, 1985

October 2nd, 1984

Date of offense

The first time the case was argued

The case was reargued

The final decision was made

Petitioners Side

Sides

T.L.O. argued that her fourth amendment right was violated. In which protects her rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Respondants Side

Sides

The court 3 ruling agreed with the lower court that the fourth amendment right is applicable. The court believed that the school should be allowed to conduct a warrantless search if they had a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.

Meet the Supreme Court

Supreme Court

Waren E. Burger (Appointed by President Richard Nixon, Republican) William J. Brennan Jr. (Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Democrat) Byron White (Appointed by President John F. Kennedy, Democrat) Thurgood Marshall (Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Democrat) Harry Blackmun (Appointed by President Richard Nixon, Republican) Lewis F. Powell Jr. (Appointed by President Richard Nixon, Republican) William Rehnquist (Appointed by President Ronald Regan and Richard Nixon, Republican) John P. Stevens (Appointed by President Gerald Ford, Republican) Sandra Day O’Connor (Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Republican)

"The legality of a search of a student should depend simply on the reasonablness of the circumstances, of the search"

- Byron White

Supreme Court Ruling

Opinion

Main Opinion: Authored by Justice Byron White Official Decision: T.L.O. took her case to the New Jersey supreme court, which later found that the search was unreasonable, and the evidence could not be used. Disposition: The school administrator's conduct was not reasonable because the mere possession of cigarettes did not violate the school's rules.

Parts of the Opinion

Opinion

Facts: The school must respect the fourth amendment right and not search without reasonable suspicion. Issue: Violated T.L.O. fourth amendment right Holding: The search then became unreasonable, and the evidence could not be used against T.L.O.

Concurring Opinion

Opinion

Justice Powell joined by justice O’Connor, agreed with the majority's opinion In 1985, the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 margin, ruled that New Jersey and the school had met a "reasonableness" standard for conducting such searches at school.

Impact

Aftermath

Students now have a legitimate right to privacy and searching their personal effects is a substation invasion of privacy. Schools have to has to have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a search on a student.