4th Amendment Pros And Cons

The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. Law enforcement officers need probable cause and in most case a warrant to search a person or their belongings. Any evidence collected from an illegal search will be excluded from evidence at trial. The purpose of the 4th Amendment is to protect citizens from being abused by the government and its law enforcement agencies. Students at public education institutions are also protected against unreasonable search and seizures of personal property, but students have a reduced expectation of privacy when in school. While the rules established by school districts and individual schools must adhere to rights protected by the constitution, they may also be customized to protect the rights of all students within the school. The landmark case that focused on this topic was New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985). T.L.O. (Tracy Lois Odem) was a 14 year old high school student in New Jersey. She and a friend were caught smoking cigarettes in the restroom at school. T.L.O. denied smoking. The principal demanded to see her purse, and upon searching it found marijuana and other …show more content…
Most students carry a purse or backpack, which can be searched at a teacher or administrator’s discretion. In most cases, teachers do not search but rather report their suspicion(s) to an administrator. Now with the mass influx of technology, this decision will also affect students’ use of cell phones and other electronic devices that store information. It will be interesting to see if the decision in this case also applies to going through a student’s personal information, such as messages on a laptop or cell phone. The decision in New Jersey v. T.L.O. still stands that that school administrators don't need to have a search warrant or probable cause before conducting a search because students have a reduced expectation of privacy when in