Monday, March 23, 2009

Strip-Search Case Tests How Far Schools Can Go

Thank goodness for the Fourth Amendment! When you read stories like this one, it really brings home to you how important our Constitution is.

Hopefully, it will be interpreted by the Supreme Court in such a way that no other public school student will have to submit to the extreme invasion of privacy that Savana Redding experienced in middle school.

Read the article, and give me your reaction. What sorts of restrictions should the Court place on searches by school officials? Keep in mind the following things as you consider your response:

1. The wording of the Fourth Amendment, which was written by Madison's committee long before public schools existed in the United States.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

2. The Court ruled in 1985 that school officials have more latitude to conduct searches than do police. (But this seems so far out of line I'm surprised the case was even appealed to the Supreme Court.)

3. The Court may well decide to write an opinion on this case which much more clearly spells out how the Fourth Amendment applies to public school students.

Anyway, read the article - I think you will be shocked by the extent of the search school officials conducted on Savana Redding.

Strip-Search Case Tests How Far Schools Can Go - NYTimes.com

5 comments:

MRHS10 said...

I think that what the school did was in total violation of the 4th amendment. The Principal had no probable cause other than the fact that she thought the girl had prescription drugs. And since they were prescription the principal should have no reason to search the girl. Especially the way she got searched. So all in all total violation of the 4th amendment.

Anonymous said...

Not only was the strip search in violation of the 4th amendment it was unnecessary and uncalled for. The intensity of the search was something that most criminals don't have to endure and certainly not a 13 year old girl. The school didn't even have an exact reason for the search other than assumptions so there was no need for the search to take place because the girl told them that she didn't have any pills in the first place. As stated in the article "it does not require a constitutional scholar to conclude that a nude search of a 13 year old is an invasion of constitutional rights". Therefore a strip search shouldn't have taken place because it did indeed violate the girls constitutional rights and the 14th amendment.
Melissa Moore
Current event

Anonymous said...

I tottaly agree what the principle did was wrong! The 4th amendment was violated thus he broke a law and should be in trouble! You can not search anyone without probable cause and even if he had probable cause there was no need for the search and im pretty sure only a police officer or fed. is aloud to search her not the principle this was completely uncalled for!-Jake Goss

Anonymous said...

I think that the strip search of Savana Redding was a huge violation of the 4th amendment because they did not have enough probable cause to do the type of search that they did. The situation which was at hand may have called for a search of her locker and backpack, maybe her pockets and possibly even a cavity search, but by no means was making a 13 year old girl strip down and do the things she was forced to do necessary or even reasonable. This search method seems more fit for a situation in which authorities had reason to believe that the girl had a gun, knife, or some other type of weapon that could endanger the other students at her school. I think that both the people who strip searched the girl and the people who gave the orders to do so should be punished to the fullest extent which I’m sure they will. Also I’m pretty sure this type of search is only allowed to be done by a police officer not just by a school official so they should be punished for that also.

Keegan Malmanger

Current Events #6

Anonymous said...

I think what the school did was very wrong. the principal's actions were unconstiutuional this violates the fourth amendment. i do not think it is right to strip search her thats to far i they should have just went through her locker and back pack. the principal can not search someone without probable cause. i think the principal should have some type of punishment for this it was not necessary.
Spencer Truong
Period 5
EXTRA CREDIT