4th Amendment- Unlawful Searches & Seizures (school searches)
School searches are fair
Side Score: 25
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School searches are unfair
Side Score: 34
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Opening Statement: Would you want to go to a school where students can bring in dangerous items to harm you without being stopped? Schools should continue to have the right to search students. This is important to ensure a safe learning environment, ensure the safety of the student body and teachers, and to ensure that the student will stop at school with whatever they got searched for. Side: School searches are fair
Argument 1: Searches in schools maintains and ensures the safety of students. Evidence: A report made by two students to a school official that another student possesses a gun at school constitutes reasonable suspicion to search the student and his locker (In re Commonwealth v. Carey, 1990). The school official has reasonable suspicion, and meaning behind his search of the student and his locker. This search prevented potential dangers, and problems to occur, because the student might’ve used the gun to harm the others in the environment. Another example is, ‘An anonymous phone call advising an administrator that a student will be bringing drugs to school, coupled with the student's reputation as a drug dealer, creates reasonable suspicion to search the student's pockets and book bag’ (State of New Hampshire v. Drake, 1995). This suspicion caused them to make an unlawful search, on the student, to make sure they didn’t carry any drugs. The search made was reasonable; the principal receiving a phone call informing him that one of the students will be bringing in drugs. Side: School searches are fair
Argument 1: Maintains the safety of the students attending the school, (if you or your belongings seem suspicious) to prevent any dangers. The searches can be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion, and a good reasoning behind each search made. An example of this, is ‘An anonymous phone call advising an administrator that a student will be bringing drugs to school, coupled with the student's reputation as a drug dealer, creates reasonable suspicion to search the student's pockets and book bag’ (State of New Hampshire v. Drake, 1995). This suspicion caused them to make an unlawful search, on the student, to make sure they didn’t carry any drugs. The search made was reasonable; the principal receiving a phone call informing him that one of the students will be bringing in drugs. Side: School searches are fair
As a teacher said “As an educator whose first priority is safety, I do not see approval of strip-searches as making my school safer.”- Robert DeBlois.Instead of searching the students there are many other ways to resolve the issue rather than violating the student and his/her property Side: School searches are unfair
Searches that were successful in the sense that they found items that are against the school’s policy don’t give the school certainty and proof that that particular person is guilty. What if the item was placed in someone’s possession by others on purpose or as a joke to get innocent people in trouble?. In this case, it will be very hard for the student to prove their innocence. Side: School searches are unfair
As a teacher said “As an educator whose first priority is safety, I do not see approval of strip-searches as making my school safer.”- Robert DeBlois. Instead of violating the student and his/her property there are many other ways to resolve the issue for example talking it out with the student. Side: School searches are unfair
I see where you're coming from, but there must be a reason behind the strip searching, of students. They could've been hiding some dangerous weapon or object, that could put the other people in the environment, in danger. The suspicion made was reasonable, and they had a right to do that, because they didn't want her to use the ibuprofen, as a drug. Side: School searches are fair
That is true but I do not believe that a student would just walk up to the principal and accuse them self of smoking or be doing drugs because they will have to go to court and maybe go to jail. If talking to the student does not improve the situation then the school has a reason to search the student's personal belongings. Strip searches are of course not to be done but simply searching a locker or a bag. Side: School searches are fair
Argument 2: Next, if the reason to search the student involves the safety of the other students or staff then that is a reason to search personal belongings because it might harm the health of others. The has been a case where a 14-year-old girl was caught smoking in the bathroom. She was taking to the Vice-principal whom she told that she did not smoke. They searched her locker and her purse in which they found cigarettes, rolling paper, marijuana, plastic bags, a pipe, a large amount of money, and a list of students that owed her money. She sued the school for searching her but the government sided with the school saying that the school just needed a good reason to search her and therefore the evidence was used against her in a trail. Side: School searches are fair
Argument 3: Also, the school should search the student to stop them from doing something illegal and to help them out of the mess they made. To help the student stop with what they are doing and return to a healthy lifestyle and to stop them using drugs or weapons at least in school. This is to ensure the student's safety. Side: School searches are fair
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Argument 1 Even with regulations and policies, students will find a creative way to be rebellious. To prevent them from doing this, schools must educate students to make ‘being rebellious’ less desirable. They can do this by showing them how dangerous things like smoking and drinking are in order to ensure that they don’t want to start in the first place. Schools should change the student's mindset so they are not going to do bad stuff in the first place. Side: School searches are unfair
This is a violation of the students privacy for example a school in Quebec is under fire for strip searching students “So they ordered each of the 10th-graders into a back room and told them to remove some of their clothes.”-Daily News. Imagine how the ten students feel being stripped and searched.This could make the student feel uncomfortable because they are being asked to strip down could make them feel very self conscious and violated Side: School searches are unfair
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This is a violation of the students privacy for example a school in Quebec is under fire for strip searching students “So they ordered each of the 10th-graders into a back room and told them to remove some of their clothes.”-Daily News. Imagine how the 10th graders feel being stripped and searched. This could make the student feel uncomfortable and violate. School officials should never order students to take off any of their private items with themselves. Side: School searches are unfair
First, we are talking specifically about the US, and even if it were to happen in the US, the school had reasonable suspicion for the search. All they wanted to do at the end of the day, is to make sure everyone in the learning environment was safe. Side: School searches are fair
There are some cases where the suspicion is reasonable, and they have a good reason behind what they are doing. The students could have been doing something wrong, and putting others in danger. So, the school has to take safety measures, to make sure that everyone's welfare is ensured. Also, we are talking about the US, not Canada. An example of reasonable suspicion, is: The fact that the search of all but one student in a class fails to reveal allegedly stolen property gives school officials reasonable suspicion to search that student (DesRoches v. Caprio, 1998). This may trigger the officials’ reasonable suspicion, because if everyone was searched and proven innocent, then it is obvious and highly likely that the one student who was not searched, is guilty of this. If the students were allowed to choose whether they wanted to be searched or not, then students that didn't give their consent to be searched could more than likely be hiding something, and/or are guilty of something. Side: School searches are fair
"Arizona school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old girl when they strip-searched her on the suspicion"-Washington Post. An example from the US, a 13 year old was wrongfully searched because of a suspicion the school had and because the school wrongfully took action they broke the 4th amendment violating the students rights. Side: School searches are unfair
Although it CAN be a violation of the students privacy, but only if there is no actual reason for the search. Teachers and School officials need the right reason to do so. Another thing to keep in mind is that Lockers are the school's property, not the student's. For strip searching, a student has the right to decline any kind of search. Outside of schools, the Fourth Amendment generally means that the police must have “probable cause” to search a suspect. As Justice David Souter recently summarized, that means police may only conduct a search if there is “a fair possibility or a substantial chance” a search will turn up evidence of a crime.Inside of schools, the Fourth Amendment has been interpreted differently. Ever since the Supreme Court’s 1985 decision in New Jersey v. T.L.O., school officials may search a student’s outer clothing. In the USA schools do not have the right to strip search students, and in Quebec, it's the same so clearly the school got in trouble for that And the incident was not reoccurring. Side: School searches are fair
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Argument 2: An example is when a vice principal in New Jersey school searched through a female student’s purse and locker for suspicious items in 1985. Although he found those suspicious items, he still committed a crime, the vice principal broke the morals of the 4th Amendment by invading the student’s privacy. It violated the student’s privacy and morality, and also teachers are not even close to be an authority, and even authorities need to have warrant before search anything from anybody. Side: School searches are unfair
Closing: Overall the school should not be allowed to go through students lockers since it is a violation of privacy and even teachers don't find it necessary thus there are many other ways to resolve the issues than to search the students and their belongings Side: School searches are unfair
Argument 3:This could also trigger students memories for example a student could have been sexually assaulted and when a teacher is touching them feeling their bodies it could trigger horrible memories which could deeply affect the student .“I later wondered why I was so passive all I could answer was that it was an experience similar to sexual assault. I felt the same helplessness, the same abuse by a male in authority, the same sense of degradation and lack of escape” -St Kilda,Scotland Pedestrian.With this students will feel vulnerable as a teacher is stripping them feeling them and patting them down which will feel super uncomfortable and imagine the student having to go back to class with that teacher and the horrible memories the student has of the teacher as he/she patted her down in a strip search. Side: School searches are unfair
Argument 4: Negative consequences of school searches are that teachers can misuse their power. The searches give the school staff a sense of power if it is a search for no reason. Teachers might use this power to mistreat a student if they don’t like them. Some belongings might be a source of embarrassment for the student. For example love letters, embarrassing photo's and magazines, contraceptives, or medicines Side: School searches are unfair
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