This issue was brought up by one of my local agencies.

Student in in school suspension/AEP and is caught with cell phone (a violation of school policy). Phone is confiscated pursuant to policy.

Where it gets sticky is that she is very nervous and begging them not to look in her phone, etc. Phone has a security code as well.

Somehow, school officials get the code from her (don't ask, I probably do not want to know) and find evidence of a crime on the phone.

Thoughts?

James Stainton
Wise County Attorney

The line of cases following New Jersey v. T.L.O. 468 U.S. 1214 (1984) (search of student's purse).

The TLO opinion is, I believe, more properly cited at 469 U.S. 325.

Law enforcement around here regularly scans through phones seeking drug trafficking intel after arrests - but post-arrest is glaringly distinguishable from post-I-caught-you-with-a-phone-in-ISS.

TLO offered the "reasonableness standard" when evaluating searches by school officials.

"Under ordinary circumstances the search of a student by a school official will be justified at its inception where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school.And such a search will be permissible in its scope when the measures adopted are reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the student's age and sex and the nature of the infraction."

Is there an objective to the search of the phone or was it mere curiosity?

A good catch on the citation. Thank you.

I have no evidence that there was any violation, legal or otherwise, other than simply having the phone. The student was nervous, crying, and kept telling them not to look in the phone.

I cannot find that they had any suspicion that anything was going on other than simply possessing the phone (violation of policy).

I really want to know how they got the student to give up the security to the phone.

James

When you asked them if what they thought they would find on the phone and why, what did they say?

It could be something as small (but legit) as texts regarding answers to tests.