vi
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
Introduction
3
C
ASE: 1
iSSue Before THe courT
Whether the warrantless search of a student's locker for marijuana was
reasonable under the circumstances of the case.
THe facTS
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
The Fourth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution
guards against
unreasonable searches
and seizures when the
searched party has a
"reasonable expectation
of privacy."
On December 21, at 12:45 pm, Linda Day, the principal of Monu-
ment Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Massa-
chusetts, was told by a faculty member that a student reported being
approached by Je rey Snyder to purchase marijuana for $25. e
reporting faculty member had worked at the school for approximately
15 years, had extensive contact with students, and many times had
provided reliable information to school administrators.
Principal Day asked John F. Canning, the assistant principal, to
join her and the faculty member in her o ce, whereupon the faculty
member repeated the information. e faculty member added that
the student had reported the attempted sale at about 10:30 am. e
student said that Je rey showed him a videocassette case that con-
tained three bags of marijuana and that he then put the videocassette
case in his book bag.
e administrators decided to locate Je rey. Assistant Principal
Canning found Je rey in the student center, which was crowded with
students. From a distance, Canning could not see Je rey's book bag.
Since he did not know if other students were involved, he did not want
to arouse suspicion by approaching Je rey in the student center. e
two administrators decided to wait until the beginning of the next
period (about 1:20 pm) when Je rey was scheduled to be in a class
and to search his locker for the book bag at that time. It is important
to note that the school's student code stated that each student had the
right not to have his/her locker subject to an "unreasonable" search.
At approximately 1:20 pm, the two administrators opened the
locker using the combination to the locker that was available at the
school's main o ce. ey found the book bag, the videocassette case,
and three bags containing marijuana. ey took these items to Princi-
pal Day's o ce and concealed them behind her desk.
Principal Day located Je rey and brought him to her o ce. ere,
2
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ASE: 1
Background
· A teacher informed the principal of a high school that Jeffrey Snyder, a student at the school,
attempted to sell illegal drugs (marijuana) to another student.
· Without informing Jeffrey, the principal authorized a search of his locker while he was in class.
School administrators found marijuana in his locker.
· Based upon the search, Jeffrey was called into the principal's office. When confronted with the
marijuana found in his locker, he confessed to possession of marijuana with intent to sell to other
students.
· Jeffrey claimed that the school violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution
by failing to obtain a search warrant before seizing the illegal drugs from his locker.
Before you Begin
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
R
R
What is the Fourth Amendment of the
United States Constitution?
The Fourth Amendment protects persons
accused of crimes by requiring a search
warrant before government officials can
search a person, a home, or any place where
a person has a "reasonable expectation of
privacy."
R
R
What is a "reasonable expectation of
privacy"?
Under the Fourth Amendment, the U.S.
Supreme Court asserts that a person has a
"reasonable expectation of privacy" when:
(1) the individual SUBJECTIVELY believes
that a particular area is private, such as a car,
a locker, a pocketbook, or a home, and (2)
OBJECTIVELY, whether society recognizes that
expectation as reasonable. As such, the court
looks to the subjective intent of the person
being searched (for example, did the person
in fact believe that a certain area was private?)
and to the objective intent as to whether that
person's belief of privacy will be recognized by
society as a whole.
R
R
What is a search warrant?
In the majority of cases, before searching
areas where a person has a reasonable
expectation of privacy, the government
(the police) must obtain written permission
from a judge to conduct a search. The police
must support their request with facts that
show they have extremely good reasons,
or "probable cause," to conduct a search.
If permission is granted, the court issues a
search warrant.
R
R
What is Balancing School Safety/
Disciplinary Policies with Students'
Constitutional Rights?
In cases of searching students' lockers,
the law requires the court to balance the
constitutional rights of the student against
the need for school officials to keep the school
safe and orderly for all students.
Commonwealth v. Snyder
Fourth Amendment Protection Against Unreasonable
Searches and Seizures
1
C
ASE: 1
Constitutional Law
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
Case 1:
High School
Locker
Search
Fourth Amendment Protection
Against Unreasonable Searches
and Seizures
oBJecTiVe
To understand how the Fourth Amendment of
the United States Constitution protects against
warrantless searches and whether this protection
extends to a locker search of a high school
student.
ToPicS coVered
R
R
Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution
R
R
Students' Reasonable Expectation of Privacy
R
R
Search Warrants Supported by Probable Cause
R
R
Balancing School Safety/Disciplinary Policies with
Students' Constitutional Rights
Commonwealth v. Snyder
4
C
ASE: 1
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
Sources
The case briefi ng above contains excerpts and direct extractions from the sources noted
below that have been combined with the author's own expert legal input. The case has
been condensed and formatted from its original content for purposes of this workbook.
Commonwealth v. Snyder, 413 Mass. 521, 597 N.E. 2d 1363 (1992).
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Berkshire
August 25, 1992. Opinion written by the Honorable Herbert P. Wilkins.
In the U.S., the
police (or other law
enforcement offi cials)
cannot simply search
someone for no reason.
If proper legal steps
are not followed, that
search can be classifi ed
as unreasonable.
Probable Cause:
Evidence that would
lead a reasonable
person to believe that
a crime was or is being
committed by the
person being accused.
in Assistant Principal Canning's presence, Principal Day asked Je rey
if it was true, as reported to her, that he had o ered to sell marijuana
in the school. Je rey admitted that he had. Je rey, who was very
upset, said that he could not believe this was happening and had never
before engaged in this type of activity.
Je rey explained that a friend had given him the marijuana to
sell, that he had become troubled about doing it, and he had called
his friend to come to the school at 2 pm to take back what he had not
sold. Je rey admitted that the book bag, the videocassette case, and
the bags of marijuana belonged to him. Je rey said there were four
bags of marijuana but he had sold one for $25 to a student. Principal
Day called Je rey's mother, who came to the school, while Assistant
Principal Canning called the police.
At trial, Snyder argued that since he had a legitimate expectation
of privacy in his locker as per the school code, all evidence taken was
illegally seized and not admissable against him.
e Commonwealth argued that there was no reasonable expec-
tation of privacy as to his locker and in the alternative, even if there
was, the locker search was valid as school administrators conducted a
search of the locker that was reasonable under all the circumstances.
In other words, while school administrators must be "reasonable,"
they are not restricted by the probable cause or warrant requirements
of the Fourth Amendment.
Case Title
Provides the title of the case.
Objective
The objective of the case.
Topics Covered
A list of the law concepts covered in the case.
Background
Provides a brief background summary of
the case.
Before You Begin
Terms and de nitions of the laws and key
concepts pertinent to the case.
Issue Before the Court
The essential question that
is being asked of the court.
The Facts
Provides the detailed facts
of the case.
Side Notes
Additional law concepts and fun facts
related to the case.
Sources
Identi es the source(s) of the case.
Understanding the Format of This Book
This workbook has been organized into an easy-to-read format to help
you make a decision in each case. To prepare you in the decision making
process, each case has been divided into a series of individual sections.
The following is a brief explanation of the individual sections that make
up the parts of each case.
For Evaluation Purposes Only