Assignment task:
New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)
In 1980, a teacher at a high school in New Jersey found two girls smoking in a bathroom. Students were allowed to smoke in some areas of the school, but smoking in the restrooms was against school rules. The teacher took the two girls to the principal's office. There, they met with Assistant Vice Principal Theodore Choplick. One of the girls was T.L.O., a 14-year-old freshman. T.L.O. said she had not been smoking and said that she did not smoke at all. The second girl admitted that she had been smoking.
Choplick took T.L.O. into his office. He told her to give him her purse. When he opened the purse, he found a pack of cigarettes. He took the cigarettes out of the purse and showed them to T.L.O. He said she had lied about smoking in the restroom. He also found a package of cigarette rolling papers. In his opinion, this meant that T.L.O. might be using marijuana. He decided to search T.L.O.'s purse some more. When he did so, he found some marijuana, a pipe, and empty plastic bags. He also found one-dollar bills, a list of students who owed T.L.O. money, and some letters. In the letters, there was information that showed that T.L.O. was selling marijuana.
Choplick then called T.L.O.'s mother and the police. They both came to the school. Choplick gave the items from the purse to the police. The police asked the mother to take T.L.O. to the police station. At the police station, T.L.O. admitted that she had been selling marijuana at school. The State of New Jersey brought charges against T.L.O. The evidence they used was T.L.O.'s admission and the items from her purse.
T.L.O. said that the search violated the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. She tried to have the evidence from her purse kept out of court. She also argued that her confession should be suppressed, because it happened as a result of the unreasonable search.
Questions:
Q1. Read the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Explain the purpose of the Fourth Amendment. Using the course textbook (and any outside sources of your choosing) describe the Supreme Court's understanding of the Fourth Amendment.
Q2. Try to make an argument that the search of T.L.O.'s purse was a violation of her Fourth Amendment rights.
Q3. Next, try to make an argument that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to students in public schools at all.
Q4. Based on the circumstances outlined in the above case, does the search of T.L.O.'s purse seem "reasonable" to you? Why or why not?
Q5. Predict how the Supreme Court ruled in this case.