How the Case Arrived to Supreme Court: A student in attendance of a New Jersey high school was caught smoking in a bathroom by one of her teachers. When brought before the vice principal, the student denied having been smoking, and stated that she didn't smoke at all. In response to this falsity, the vice principal demanded the student’s purse and searched it thoroughly discovering along with the cigarettes, evidence that the student was taking part in drug dealing. The State thereafter brought charges of delinquency against the student, stating that school searches were included in the fourth amendment but that the one performed at the school was justified. However, it was overturned subsequently after a closer analyzation of the occurrence. …show more content…
The instance was inconsistent with the principles of privacy designated to all American citizens including students
Court’s Decision: In this case, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school’s actions in a vote of 6-3. The court stated that the Fourth Amendment was not violated in this particular situation as the school has a right to search a student if reasonable doubt is present that order is at stake in an educational environment. The student was putting herself and other students in jeopardy through her actions, justifying the search of her property. This case gave teachers the right to search students’ belongings for drugs or weapons to keep the learning environment safe thereby improving the learning environment universally across the United