New Jersey v.

TLO

General Rule of Law: The fourth Amendment protects students from illegal searches and
seizures.
Procedure Summary:
Plaintiffs: T.L.O.
Defendant: The State of New Jersey
Juvenile Court: T.L.O. lost the decision
New Jersey State Court: Ruled in favor of the defendant
United States Supreme Court: Reversed New Jersey State Court

Facts: T.L.O. was found smoking a cigarette in the girl’s bathroom. She was escorted to the
vice principals office where she denied any wrongdoing. She was then ordered to give her bag
up for a search. Upon searching, the pack of cigarettes were found. Upon further inspection,
marijuana, rolling papers, money, and notes linking her to drug sales were found. She was
expelled from school and charged for the drugs and intent to sell.

Issue: At issue is the student’s protection from illegal search and seizure under the 4 th
Amendment. Since T.L.O. was suspected of smoking cigarettes, she felt that the search went
too far in finding the other items.

Holding and decision: T.L.O. appealed her suspension in juvenile court where the court ruled
against her. They ruled that the search was constitutional. She then appealed the ruling to the
New Jersey State Courts. They ruled that the search was constitutional. The State of New
Jersey then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a ruling of 6-3, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that the search was held in-line with the 4th Amendment of the Constitution.

Comment: This is a landmark case for search and seizure in a school setting. The role of search
and seizure was unclear at the time of this incident. This case set the tone for how things are
done today. It allowed teachers and administrators to search students with reasonable
suspicion and not to the same standard of reasonable doubt to people outside of the school
setting. After Columbine, 9/11, and other acts of violence, Resource officers are assigned to
junior and high school buildings. In cases of searches in schools, more likely than not an
administrator will conduct the search.