1. Vernonia School District v. Acton (1995)
By: Deanna LaVoie and Kaila Lozada
Period 2

2. The Issue
Vernonia School District had a “Student Athlete Drug Policy” that required random drug tests for student athletes
James Acton, a student athlete, took consent form home to parents, who denied to sign it
Violated constitutional right to privacy
Unreasonable search and seizure
The school would not let him play sports until all three of them signed form
Actons called ACLU, filing for a lawsuit (attorney=Thomas Christ)
School District appealed the case to the Supreme Court

3. Amendments Fourth Amendment: Fourteenth Amendment:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Fourteenth Amendment:
“…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

4. Majority Opinion
Justices for the Court- William H. Rehnquist, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony M. Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas
Searches were reasonable to prevent student drug use in the best interest of the school under the Fourth Amendment
Goal of the government was to stop student athlete drug use since they were proven to be the “leaders”
The court said that for a search to be reasonable, it didn’t have to be individualized before it became random
Kennedy- “random drug testing is less intrusive than having a teacher accuse a student of drug use and individualized suspicion would affect the teacher-student relationship.”
The Fourth Amendment protects against intrusions with a high expectation of privacy
Public school student athletes have less privacy than others

5. Dissenting Opinion
Justices Dissenting- Sandra Day O’Connor, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens
Blanket, suspicion less searches are unreasonable and against the Fourth Amendment
In some federal cases, it is necessary to use blanket searches in cases where the governments interests are more important than the persons privacy interest
In Vernonia vs. Acton, suspicion based searches were more reasonable to use
No testimony of drug problems at Washington Grade School, where James Acton was enrolled
“The majority’s decision in this case sweeps too broadly in allowing suspicion less drug testing of all student athletes”-Sandra Day O’Connor

6. Who won? The court ruled in favor of the Vernonia School District
Vote was 6-3, majority opinion came out on top
The Vernonia student athlete drug testing policy did not violate the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendments
Searches were reasonable

7. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist (1924-2005)
70 years old at the time of the Vernonia School District vs. Acton case
Appointed by Ronald Reagan
Attended Harvard and Stanford Law School
Very conservative- voted against legalized abortion in Roe vs. Wade (1973)
United States vs. Lopez (1995)-declared Gun Free Schools Act of 1990 unconstitutional (Act gave schools 1,000 foot gun free perimeter)
Limited Congress’ authority to regulate commerce

8. Impact
Schools can perform random searches in classes for the safety of their students
Represented how the court interprets the Fourth Amendment
In this case, enables authorities to act against the use and dealing of drugs
Shows the controversy between the communities needs for order and safety and the individuals rights of privacy
Scholars think that the Supreme Court is weakening the meaning of the Fourth Amendment

9. Bibliography
"FindLaw | Cases and Codes." FindLaw | Cases and Codes. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec
Persico, Deborah A. Vernonia School District v. Acton: Drug Testing in Schools. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, Print.
"Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton." Great American Court Cases. Ed. Mark Mikula. Vol. 2: Criminal Justice. Detroit: Gale, N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Dec
"William Rehnquist." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Dec
Images:
collegian.csufresno.edu
ssdp.org
en.wikipedia.org