Probable Physicion: A Case Study

This court decision creates a distinct precedent that gives schools the full right of search and seizure based on “reasonable suspicion”. To be clear on this rule, previously school officials must have probable cause to conduct searches on students. Probable cause is defined as "a reasonable amount of suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong to justify a prudent and cautious person's belief that certain facts are probably true” (Ballantine’s Law Dictionary) . On the other hand, for reasonable cause it must be based on "specific and articulable facts", "taken together with rational inferences from those facts”, and the suspicion must be associated with the specific individual. (Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 91)This drastic
change has made it easier for schools to invade the privacy of student alike. The Fourth Amendment provides U.S. citizens with guarantees against unreasonable search and seizure by authorities. Students may assert their protection from unreasonable searches under the same constitutional right. A student suspected of wrongdoing may attempt to use this defense as a means of avoiding being detected and disciplined. Trying to avoid seizure of cigarettes or other contraband not allowed on school premises, juveniles may attempt to deny searches of their personal property. Or if a search does take place, the juvenile may attempt to suppress evidence discovered, if court action ensues. This is how the Fourth Amendment is supposed to work but instead it has been injected into a grey area which can be manipulated to deliver “swift disciplinary action”.
In a public school setting, however, the school may set and publish the guidelines determining the test for "reasonableness" of a search.
This may depend upon the severity of the suspected offense by the student. Issues involving safety to all students may justify searches of students' personal property while on school premises. Some property used by the student, like lockers/dorms, are owned by the school. Additionally, because of public funding, greater latitude may be given to school officials attempting to provide a safe and orderly educational environment for all students. When combining all of the information stated before, we can see on a time line on how our privacy has decreased. This case broke headline news but didn’t stay relevant because it involved students and not adults. The rights of students had been altered because of this court decision. All the rights of Seton Hall students had been affected to, this means that the school has increased reach/power when it comes to your private domain on campus. If they have a “reasonable” suspicion that a student isn’t following school rules or is hiding contraband in their room, then they are allowed to search it without a warrant. This takes the youth out of the justice system and makes them feel disadvantaged or start to spite the system that did them wrong. This needs to be changed to give students back the rights that they deserve just like any other person, even if they are on school grounds or
not.