New Jersey vs TLO By Sarah Shelleh

Facts of the case In 1980, Tracy Lois Odem was caught smoking cigarettes in the bathroom and was sent to the assistant principals office were she was told to hand over her purse. The principal discovered cigarettes and rolling papers, prompting further search, and found a small amount of marijuana and various drug paraphernalia. The police where called and TLO was sentenced to Juvenile Court.

Freedom & Rights denied T.L.O.'s lawyer tried to get the evidence against her thrown out of court, on the grounds that the Fourth Amendment requires a warrant and probable cause for most searches which Choplick violated by searching T.L.O.'s purse without a warrant.

Supreme Court Decision The Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey. The Court concluded that the search did not violate the Constitution, because the presence of rolling papers in the purse gave the principal reasonable suspicion that T.L.O. may have been carrying drugs, thus, justifying a more thorough search of the purse.

Interpretation Public school officials are able to search students' private belongings without a warrant or probable cause. To conduct a search, public schools need only a reasonable suspicion that a student has violated the law or a school rule.