Wednesday, 03 February 2010
NJ Supreme Court rules schools can search cars of students at will
The New Jersey State Supreme Court has delivered a message to high school students interested in individual liberty. "You don't have any."
School officials may search a student's car on school property if they have reason to suspect them, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled today.
"Obviously the education process is hampered when drugs and other illegal activities are present," wrote Justice John E. Wallace Jr., for the court. "Indeed, the need for school officials to maintain safety, order, and discipline is necessary whether school officials are addressing concerns inside the school building or outside on the school parking lot."
When it comes to the War on Drugs there is no such thing as an "unreasonable" search. Or put it another way, the Fourth Amendment doesn't apply to students on school grounds. Even if that student is an adult (age 18+).
The case before the court involves an Egg Harbor Township assistant principal, Peter Brandt, who searched the car and locker of Thomas Best in 2006 after discovering he had sold a green pill to a 10th-grade student.
Brandt looked through Best's locker and his Chevy Cavalier, which was parked in the school lot. He found a bottle of pills and marijuana in the car. Best, then 18, subsequently faced charges including possession of Valium, marijuana and steroids.
The standard now set for New Jersey students is "reasonable suspicion" and not the more stringent "probable cause" required for police to obtain a search warrant. School administrators can compel random drug testing, search lockers and backpacks at will, and now scour vehicles driven by students ostensibly to prevent drugs from being distributed.
But what if a teacher or school employee is "reasonably suspected" of dealing drugs? Then the assistant principal is powerless! The usual "probable cause" standard applies, and the police must be called. So what exactly is the difference between an 18 year old student and a school employee? Student status? Both are adults. Both should be treated equally under the law. Yet our State Supreme Court hath decreed that students, regardless of their age, are second-class citizens.
That's a fine lesson to be imparting to the leaders of tomorrow.
Posted at 19:22 by Chris Wysocki
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Chris Wysocki
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