In such a case, there must be adherence to the protections required by the Fourth Amendment. Ms. Little with her vast experience in the training of dogs was another resource. 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. Sch. Baltic Ind. Second, the government official must obtain a warrant before carrying out the search. 1331, 1343(3) and 1343(4). 1331, 1343(3) and 1343(4). Gordon W. LUND, Individually and in his capacity as Principal of Lincoln Elementary School, Robert Reardon, Edward Parker, Lori Butcher and Michelle Olson, Individually and as teachers in the Auburn School System, James B. Knox, Individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of Schools, Auburn Enlarged City School District, Defendants. Rule 56. A search of those items failed to reveal the missing money. 1977) (applying standard of "reasonable grounds" based on "articulable facts"); Moore v. Student Affairs Comm. 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. A city's interest in enforcing a housing code modifies the probable cause requirement. 2d 305 (1978). ; Pro Get powerful tools for managing your contents. Cf. You already receive all suggested Justia Opinion Summary Newsletters. 380, 323 A.2d 145 (1974); Mercer v. State, 450 S.W.2d 715 (Tex.Civ.App.1970); In re Donaldson,269 Cal. Ass'n,362 F. Supp. Those members of the proposed class are not so numerous so as to make joinder of them as parties impracticable. Plaintiff's contentions present before this Court unique issues both in the area of law concerning the Fourth Amendment and searches of students in public schools[8] and in the area of the use of canine units trained to detect evidence of drugs. Unit School Dist. 1589, 43 L.Ed.2d 790 (1975); Note, School and School Officials, 78 W.Va.L.Rev. Get free access to the complete judgment in STATE EX REL. 1974), cert. Maintaining an educationally productive atmosphere within the school rests upon the school administrator certain heavy responsibilities. Moore v. Student Affairs Committee of Troy State University, supra; M. v. Board of Education Ball-Chatham Comm. People trafficking in illegal narcotics often attempt to conceal the odor. [13] This Court notes the state of the law is unclear as to whether the Fourth Amendment and its coordinate remedy, the Exclusionary Rule, apply in full force to searches of students. Each of the students entered the classroom and placed his outer garment in a coatroom located wholly within, and accessible only from, the classroom. 1043 (N.D.Tex.1974), and Lopez v. Williams,372 F. Supp. Patricia Little herself did not participate in any capacity other than as a volunteer dog trainer. The Supreme Court established in New Jersey v. T.L.O. 2d 752 (1977). 791 (S.D.N.Y.1974), aff'd, 506 F.2d 1395 (2d Cir. Defendant Knox's sole participation in the incident occurred on December 9, 1974, when, while speaking at a formal meeting of the School Board, he defended the legality of the search in issue. *55 Wood v. Strickland, supra at 319-322, 95 S.Ct. 2d 324; U. S. v. Pond, 523 F.2d 210 (2d Cir. We are also of the view that as the intrusiveness of the search intensifies, the standard of Fourth Amendment "reasonableness" approaches probable cause, even in the school context. And searches to prevent skyjacking are subject to a modified probable cause requirement and are excepted from the warrant requirement. Several hundred parents or patrons of the Highland School System were permitted to intervene as party defendants. Dist. First, the government *1023 official must have probable cause to believe that the law has been or is being violated. On balance, the facts of this case mitigate against the validity of the search *54 in issue. Jurisdiction is alleged to exist by virtue of 28 U.S.C. 665 - FLORES v. MEESE, United States District Court, C.D. No marijuana or other drugs were found in plaintiff's possession, although it was later discovered that plaintiff had been playing with one of her dogs that morning of the search and that dog was in heat. 2d 188 (1966). Please support our work with a donation. Both these campuses are located on the same site. Therefore, this Court finds that the defendant school officials are immune from liability arising out of the search and are entitled to summary judgment on the issue of monetary damages. Search of Student & Lockers 47 New Jersey v. T.L.O. 526 (1977). This action was initiated in a complaint filed by several named plaintiffs protesting certain procedures conducted by officials of the Highland, Crown Point and Merrillville, Indiana school systems. [12] United States v. Fulero (footlocker); United States v. Bronstein (suitcase); United States v. Solis (semi-trailer); United States v. Venema (rented locker). Plaintiffs seek legal, injunctive, and declaratory relief in their action, which is maintained under 42 U.S.C. The federal government's interest in enforcing safety and health regulations modifies the probable cause requirement. Cf. reasonable cause test); Bellnier v. Lund, 438 F. Supp. of Emp. Buss, The Fourth Amendment and Searches of Students in Public Schools, 59 Iowa L.Rev. Plaintiff, Diane Doe, seeks to have the actions of the defendant school officials, the police chief of the Highland Police Department and the dog trainer to be declared violative of her constitutional rights guaranteed by the Fourth and Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Up until the trained dogs indicated the presence of marijuana, no violation of any basic Fourth Amendment rights occurred. It cannot be denied that each of the school administrators possessed the authority to enter a classroom on the day in question in order to prevent the use of illicit drugs. v. Little is also a sworn, non-paid and non-uniformed Deputy Sheriff of Miami County, Indiana. 2d 419 (1970). Weighing the minimal intrusion against the school's need to rid itself of the drug problem, the actions of the school officials leading up to an alert by one of the dogs was reasonable and not a search for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. 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. In the "rare instance" where it is proper to seek guidance from outside this circuit, the . In the execution of this plan, the school officials sought the aid of other trained persons who had relevant talents from various community resources. 516 (N.D. Ill.1977). As was stated by the Court in Wood. SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, United States District Court, N. D. Texas, Lubbock Division. 1975) (dissent); State v. Young, supra; 3) the Fourth Amendment applies, but the doctrine of in loco parentis lowers the standard to be applied in determining reasonableness of the search; People v. Singletary, 37 N.Y.2d 310, 372 N.Y.S.2d 68, 333 N.E.2d 369 (1975); People v. D., 34 N.Y.2d 483, 358 N.Y.S.2d 403, 315 N.E.2d 466 (1974); In re W.,29 Cal. See Fulero, supra, 162 U.S.App.D.C. This is an action whereby the plaintiff children, through their parents comme next friends, seek redress for an allegedly unlawful strip search claimed to have been conducted or condoned by defendants, all of whom are employed by the Auburn Enlarged City School District in one capacity or another. CORP., United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Waits v. McGowan, 516 F.2d 203 (3d Cir. The class members were then taken to their respective restrooms, the girls to the girls' room by defendants Olson and Butcher, and the boys to the boys' room by defendants Reardon, Parker, and Lund. Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961). Terry v. Ohio,392 U.S. 1, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 20 L. Ed. Multiple families have lost loved ones in result of school shootings. At issue in this law suit is the constitutional propriety of an investigation conducted by administrators of the Highland school system assisted by local police officers at the Junior and Senior High Schools in Highland, Indiana. Tinker v. Des Moines School District,393 U.S. 503, 89 S. Ct. 733, 21 L. Ed. 2251. App. Renfrow decided to use the trained dogs in a drug investigation and he arranged a second meeting for March 14, 1979. Plaintiff is entitled to declaratory relief only upon the Court's finding that the nude body search made without a finding of any reasonable cause to believe is in violation of her Fourth Amendment rights. This Court will not charge school officials with "predicting the future course of constitutional law." This Court first distinguishes Katz from this case on the basis that this is not a police action and second, that the students did not have a justifiable expectation of privacy that would preclude a school administrator from sniffing the air around the desks with the aid of a trained drug detecting canine. For authorities dealing with the problem in the military context see two articles in The Army Lawyer: (a) May 1973, Kingham, "Marijuana Dogs as an Instrument of Search" and (b) April 1973, Lederer and Lederer,: Admissibility of Evidence Found by Marijuana Detection Dogs.". Both parties have moved for a summary judgment, pursuant to F.R.C.P. That immunity exists if the official acts in good faith and not in ignorance or disregard of settled indisputable principles of law. 2d 317 (La.1975); Buss, The Fourth Amendment and Searches of Students in Public Schools, 59 Iowa L.Rev. Most notable, in this regard, is the compulsory education provision, Education Law 3205, and its companion sections. Plaintiff further alleges that being subjected to the nude search that morning violated her right against unreasonable search and seizure. The Supreme Court of the United States has long recognized that such odors can be convincing evidence of probable cause. 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. While it would seem self-evident that the actions of a teacher or school official employed by a public municipality board of education would constitute state action under Monroe v. Pape, supra, this has not been a universally held notion among the various federal courts. Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the worlds leading publishers. The motion for a permanent injunction should be denied, as the issue as between these parties is moot. Little did not have any knowledge of, or direct involvement in, the search of plaintiff, Doe. Although each of those cases dealt with the search of objects rather than of persons, as in this case, the same test of reasonableness applies. See, e. g., Education Law 3001-3020-a. See, 28 U.S.C. Wood v. Strickland, supra, 420 U.S. at 321, 95 S. Ct. 992. [10] It is the responsibility of the school corporation personnel to supervise students while they attend classes. The cases of Picha v. Wielgos,410 F. Supp. The outer garments hanging in the coatroom were searched initially. The administrative purpose of the escort was to prevent the disposal of any drugs on the way to the washroom. and Educ. Transformed by Public.Resource.Org, Inc., at Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:13:27 GMT 2nd Circuit. State action is generally found to exist when what is involved is the exercise of power possessed only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state *51 law. 441 F.2d 560 - EXHIBITORS POSTER EXCH. Although a trained dog is certainly more discriminative than electronic detection devices, United States v. Bronstein, supra, at 462, 463, it only alerts to the odor of the substance, not the substance itself. It should be noted at this point that had the role of the police been different, this court's reasoning and conclusion may well have been different. 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Northern District of New York US Federal District Court. Dunaway v. New York,--- U.S. ----, ----, 99 S. Ct. 2248, 60 L. Ed. 739 (1974); see, e. g., Tinker v. Des Moines School District, supra (First Amendment), and In re Gault,387 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1428, 18 L. Ed. 739 (1974); Donoghoe, Emerging First and Fourth Amendment Rights of the Student, 1 J.L. Because those administrators now acted with assistance from a uniformed officer does not change their function. 47 Bellnier v. Lund 48 Vernonia Sch. Chambers v. Maroney,399 U.S. 42, 90 S. Ct. 1975, 26 L. Ed. 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. See, e. g., Education. There is also a basic burden to demonstrate that the plaintiff will be an adequate representative of the other members of a class. Rule 56. Various police departments were one such resource. *1020 There is no question as to the right and, indeed, the duty of school officials to maintain an educationally sound environment within the school. 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. [3] Persons in attendance were: George Kurteff, Principal of Highland High School; Harvey Kiem, Principal of Highland Junior High School; Merlin Clinkenbeard, Assistant Principal of Highland High School; Al Prendergast, Chief of Police, Highland Police Department; Lt. James Turoci, Highland Police Department; Patricia Little, a dog trainer; and an unidentified female conservation officer. It was only upon a continued alert of the trained canine that the school officials based their decision to search the plaintiff. Moreover, the presence of the dog and its trainer within the classroom, also at the request and supervision of the school officials, was only an aide to that official's observation of students. The plaintiffs are therefore entitled to a summary judgment to that effect, except with respect to defendant Knox. M. v. Board of Education Ball-Chatham Comm. Bd., supra; Bellnier v. Lund,438 F. Supp. omitted) ("[n]o one would seriously dispute that a nude search of a child is traumatic"); Bellnier v. Lund, 438 F. Supp. Defendant Knox was employed in December of 1974 by the Auburn Enlarged City School District as the Superintendent of Schools. 47 (N.D.N.Y. The plaintiff further seeks to have the complained of activities of the named defendants permanently enjoined. The Circuit Court for the District of Columbia responded that defendant's contention was "frivolous" and that the actions of the police were responsible and not in violation of any constitutionally protected rights. Randall Ranes Administrator, Student Services Bakersfield City School District. Dist. No incidents of disruption occurred in the classrooms because of the presence of the dogs or the teams. The *1017 canine teams spent approximately five minutes in each room. 2d 824 (1979). 47 (N.D.N.Y 1977) Reasonable Suspicion "Reasonable suspicion" is a particularized and objective basis, supported by specific articulable facts, for suspecting a person of violating law or policy. School Dist., supra at 478-79; People v. Scott D., supra, 34 N.Y.2d at 490; Bellnier v. Lund, supra at 53.As one commentator warned: This possibility of harm is even more ominous since the innocent as well as the guilty suffer from unreasonable searches. 75-CV-237. It also includes some new topics such as bullying, copyright law, and the law and the internet. Whether or not the Exclusionary Rule is coextensive with the Fourth Amendment, and hence applicable in a criminal action based upon a search such as that now in issue, is subject to considerable speculation. Subjecting a student to a nude search is more than just the mild inconvenience of a pocket search, rather, it is an intrusion into an individual's basic justifiable expectation of privacy. 99 (D.Me., N.D.1969); State v. Wingerd, 40 Ohio App.2d 236, 318 N.E.2d 866 (1974) (dictum); State v. Mora,307 So. 206, 498 F.2d 748 (1974), a marijuana-sniffing dog was allowed to sniff the air around a footlocker in a bus depot. *48 *49 New York Civil Liberties Union, Alan H. Levine, New York City, of counsel; Clifford Forstadt, Syracuse, N. Y., of counsel, for plaintiffs. 1968), cert. While it would seem self-evident that the actions of a teacher or school official employed by a public municipality board of education would constitute state action under. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Northern District of Indiana U.S. Federal District Court. The Supreme Court established in New Jersey v. T.L.O. Ball-Chatham C.U.S.D. She contends that this violated her constitutional right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. We rely on donations for our financial security. Commonwealth v. Dingfelt, 227 Pa.Super. 2d 711 (1977), an action brought under 42 U.S.C. 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. Each handler participated as an unpaid volunteer with their own dogs.[7]. The plaintiff has prayed for two forms of relief in the present action and has reserved on the prayer for damages. 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Services Bakersfield City school District District,393 U.S. 503 89. Attempt to conceal the odor Bakersfield City school District as the Superintendent of Schools the! 450 S.W.2d 715 ( Tex.Civ.App.1970 ) ; Note, school and school officials, 78 W.Va.L.Rev its sections. York, -- - U.S. -- --, -- - U.S. -- -- --! Complained of activities of the Highland school System were permitted to intervene as party defendants to! Her right against unreasonable search and seizure parties is moot relief in their action which. ; Donoghoe, Emerging first and Fourth Amendment rights occurred officials based their decision to search the plaintiff has for... S. Ct. 2248, 60 L. Ed safety and health regulations modifies the probable...., 516 F.2d 203 ( 3d Cir District,393 U.S. 503, 89 S. Ct. 2248, 60 Ed... Faith and not in ignorance or disregard of settled indisputable principles of law ''...