47 (N.D.N.Y 1977) Searches of Places Students have a limited expectation of privacy of areas such as lockers, which are owned and jointly controlled by the school. Highland, Indiana is a community consisting of approximately 30,000 residents located in the northwest corner of the state in Lake County, Indiana. In order to keep disruptions to a minimum, late arrivals at the school were directed to a room other than their regular first period classroom. Bellnier v. Lund, 438 F. Supp. On the morning of December 6, 1974, plaintiffs and their classmates, members of the fifth grade class at Auburn's Lincoln Elementary School, arrived at the classroom in their usual fashion. 1974); see also State v. Baccino,282 A.2d 869 (Del.Sup.1971) (dictum). Dunaway v. New York,--- U.S. ----, ----, 99 S. Ct. 2248, 60 L. Ed. 1968), cert. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. She contacted the various dog handlers in regard to their availability for the inspection informing them of the time and place. A review of the pleadings, as supplemented by the affidavits of defendants Lund, Reardon, Parker, Butcher, and Knox, reveals that, with one minor exception which will not affect the outcome of the pending motion, there are no material issues of fact to be determined with respect to the question of defendants' liability. The unnecessary duplication of sanctions is evident in either case. [2] "Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceedings for redress" 42 U.S.C. And searches to prevent skyjacking are subject to a modified probable cause requirement and are excepted from the warrant requirement. No evidence was presented at trial that shows plaintiff was in any way discomforted by the mere fact of being made to continue her class work for an extra 95 minutes. 1977), a U.S. district court in New York held that a teacher's search was so intrusive as to exceed the reasonable suspicion standard when she initiated a strip search to recover stolen money. A search of those items failed to reveal the missing money. Potts v. Wright, supra at 219; see also Picha v. Willgos, supra at 1220. at 1221), it is the general rule that the Fourth Amendment allows a warrantless intrusion into the student's sphere of privacy, if and only if the school has reasonable cause to believe that the student has violated or is violating school policies. There, a search was conducted of their desks, books, and once again of their coats. 777] the court ruled a strip search of a student to be unconstitutional. 102 (1972); Doe v. State, 88 N.M. 347, 540 P.2d 827 (1975); People v. Scott D., 34 N.Y.2d 483, The superior court's concern with the teacher's duty and the doctrine of in . 47 (N.D.N.Y. A search of those items failed to reveal the missing money. School Principals, 375 F.Supp. Although the occupations of the 14 handlers did range from housewife to deputy county sheriffs, this Court attached no particular significance to their employment since each handler present was not actively engaged in their occupation. As this Court saw and heard her in the court room, there is absolutely nothing sinister about her. It finds no fault with the school administrators using their own senses and the senses of properly trained outside personnel and dogs to detect serious conditions that are patently adverse to the proper administration of a public school. Both public and. 2d 527 (1967) (Procedural due process guaranteed in suspension and expulsion hearings). That this was the basis for finding state action is clear from a portion of the Court's opinion wherein it was stated that liability exists "at least where school authorities, acting under color of state law, deliberately decide to punish a child for misconduct by restraining the child and inflicting appreciable physical pain . But the alert of the dog constituted reasonable cause to believe that the plaintiff was concealing narcotics. that reconciling the privacy interests of children with the needs of schools to maintain order does not require strict adherence to a probable cause standard for Fourth Amendment purposes. Sometime that morning, and prior to the commencement of class, plaintiff Leonti complained to defendant Olson that he was missing $3.00 from his coat pocket. (2 times) View All Authorities Share Support FLP CourtListener is a project of Free Law Project, a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit. A canine team visited each classroom in both the Junior and Senior High School buildings. In this case, the teacher initiated a strip search after being informed by The schools' administrators delegated by the state with the duty and responsibility to maintain order, discipline, safety and education within the school system supervised the investigation which was designed with the single purpose of eliminating drug use inside the school buildings. 1977) (applying standard of "reasonable grounds" based on "articulable facts"); Moore v. Student Affairs Comm. Furthermore, this court is not here ruling whether any evidence obtained in the search could have been used in a criminal prosecution. 1832). Therefore, the nude search of plaintiff was unlawful because it did violate her Fourth Amendment right against an unreasonable search and seizure. Nor does the fact that the officials had no information about specific students and drug possession invalidate the use of the dogs. 1279 (S.D.Ohio, E.D.1973), aff'd, 419 U.S. 565, 95 S. Ct. 729, 42 L. Ed. A reasonable right to inspection is necessary to the school's performance of its duty to provide an educational environment. [3] In Ingraham v. Wright,430 U.S. 651, 97 S. Ct. 1401, 51 L. Ed. Id. What level of information is necessary must be determined on a case by case basis, however, this Court holds the lesser standard of a "reasonable cause to believe" applicable in such a determination. In doing so the Court must take into account the special duties and responsibilities imposed upon school officials to provide a safe atmosphere for a student to develop, the attendant limited powers which the school officials possess in loco parentis to effectuate the maintenance of proper discipline. Ball-Chatham C.U.S.D. This Court finds that joinder would have been permissible and that in light of counsel's motion to dismiss party plaintiffs it now DENIES plaintiff's motion for class certification. She contends that this violated her constitutional right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. 1279 (S.D.Ohio, E.D.1973), aff'd, 419 U.S. 565, 95 S.Ct. Plaintiff further alleges that being subjected to the nude search that morning violated her right against unreasonable search and seizure. The *1017 canine teams spent approximately five minutes in each room. As was stated by the Court in Wood. 2d 527 (1967) (Procedural Due Process). Defendant Knox is therefore entitled to a summary judgment dismissing the Complaint against him. Section 1983 requires a showing of action "under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State or Territory" to support a cause of action. Defendant Knox had no advance knowledge of the search in issue, nor had he previously instructed the remaining defendants as to the procedures to be followed in case of an incident of this nature. Renfrow was not present. Here, as in Johnson, the court went off on the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment. Waits v. McGowan, 516 F.2d 203 (3d Cir. 2d 355 (1977). That New York State is inextricably entwined in its various municipal school systems is obvious from reading the various provisions of the New York Education Law (McKinney's 1970); cf. It is clear that the defendants are entitled to a summary judgment on the issue of monetary damages under the test in Wood. U. S. v. Guerra, 554 F.2d 987 (9th Cir. 2d 889 (1968); People v. Singletary, supra; People v. D., supra. Thus, in State v. Young, supra, a well reasoned opinion, the Georgia Supreme Court found three categories of searches, for purposes of the Fourth Amendment: 1) wholly private searches, with no Fourth Amendment applicability; 2) state action, but no involvement of law enforcement agents, so that the Fourth Amendment applies, but not the Exclusionary Rule; and 3) search by law enforcement agents, to which both the Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule apply in toto. Acting alone, each school administrator could have unquestionably surveyed a classroom to prevent drug use. One of the two girls was the respondent T. L. O., who at that time was a 14-year-old high school freshman. See also, United States v. Race, 529 F.2d 12 (1st Cir. Fifty students were alerted to by the drug detecting canines on the morning in question. 741-742; see also Mapp v. Ohio,367 U.S. 643, 81 S. Ct. 1684, 6 L. Ed. Uniformed police officers and school administrators were present in the halls during the entire investigation. Moreover, the law in the area of student searches in public schools is obviously unsettled as suggested by the diversity of the theories and results in the cases cited here. Picha v. Wielgos,410 F. Supp. 515 (S.D.Ind.1970). Dist. The school officials, therefore, had outside independent evidence indicating drug abuse within the school. 2d 649 (1976); U. S. v. Martinez-Miramontes, 494 F.2d 808 (9th Cir. Moreover, each handler, provided their dog at their own expense and was not representing any law enforcement agency while at the schools. . It was the unauthorized and nonconsensual opening of the locker and the inspection of its interior that constituted the unlawful search, not the use of the dog. As *1022 the Supreme Court of the United States stated in Katz v. United States,389 U.S. 347, 88 S. Ct. 507, 19 L. Ed. 2251. In this case, the court finds the search unreasonable because no facts exist, other than the dog's alert, which would reasonably lead the school officials to believe the plaintiff possessed any drugs. Sometime that morning, and prior to the commencement of class, plaintiff Leonti complained to defendant Olson that he was missing $3.00 from his coat pocket. [6] Although it was not properly defined at trial, a body search was something less than the nude search that plaintiff complains she was subject to. No fault is found with requiring students to remain in their seats without notice and with their hands on their desks for short periods of time. 526 (1977). An appeal by defendant Reardon to the class regarding knowledge of the missing money proved fruitless. Perez v. Sugarman, supra; cf. 1975). Baltic Ind. at 999-1001; see also Picha v. Wielgos, supra. Also considered as a factor in the above cited dog-sniffing cases was the absence of any normal or justifiable expectation of privacy with respect to the objects searched. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. The students were there ordered to strip down to their undergarments, and their clothes were searched. Before such a search can be performed, the school administrators must articulate some facts that provide a reasonable cause to believe the student possesses the contraband sought. 1981 et seq. Ms. Little was engaged in a perfectly legitimate, if unprofitable, enterprise of training these type dogs. State v. Mora,307 So. CORP., United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. However, even with those cases noted, an analysis of the most recent developments in criminal law cases is necessary to determine the constitutional parameters of the use of drug detecting canines in public schools. See U. S. v. Unrue, 22 U.S.C.M.A. The extent to which the Fourth Amendment, and its coordinate remedy, the Exclusionary Rule, apply to searches of students while in school, however, is far from clear. Border searches are subject to a modified probable cause requirement and are excepted from the warrant requirement. 1343(3) and 1343(4). Except for the five minute interval when the canine unit entered the room, plaintiff and all other students were exposed only to a longer than normal first period class. This is true because the defendants are no longer in a position of authority with respect to plaintiffs to carry out another search of the kind now complained of. 681 F.Supp. M. v. Bd. Because of the increasing use of drugs within the school, students, faculty and administrators suffered a loss of morale at both the Senior and Junior High School. Commonwealth v. Dingfelt, 227 Pa.Super. 1971); see also Barrett v. United Hospital,376 F. Supp. All students were treated similarly up until an alert by one of the dogs. 2d 453 (1977). You can explore additional available newsletters here. Defendant Knox was employed in December of 1974 by the Auburn Enlarged City School District as the Superintendent of Schools. The students were there ordered to strip down to their undergarments, and their clothes were searched.1 When the strip searches proved futile, the students were returned to the classroom. On balance, the facts of this case mitigate against the validity of the search *54 in issue. The academy trains and certifies dogs and their handlers in the detection of marijuana and explosives as well as in tracking and attack. This case is therefore an appropriate one for a summary judgment. The administrative purpose of the escort was to prevent the disposal of any drugs on the way to the washroom. See also, Bouse v. Hipes, 319 F. Supp. I.C. Auth., 365 U.S. 715, 725, 81 S.Ct. In the Wood case the court stated: The defendant school administrators acted in good faith and with a regard for the welfare and health of the plaintiff. The operation was carried out in an unintrusive manner in each classroom. Obviously, under the reasoning of Johnson and Chadwick a description of a dog's conduct, training and experience by a knowledgeable person who can interpret the conduct of the dog as signaling the presence of a controlled substance would constitute the minimal requirement for finding probable cause. 47 (N.D.N.Y. 47 (N.D.N.Y 1977) July 11, 1977 438 F. Supp. Realizing fully that the military cases are not dispositive of or binding precedent on the issues raised here, the history of the manner in which the Court of Military Appeals has approached the problem is revealing. Bellnier v. 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