Supreme Court Case: New Jersey V. TLO

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Pages: 5

Case Brief
Title of Case: New Jersey v. TLO
Facts: The issue involves a fourteen year old girl, TLO, and the state of New Jersey. TLO is disputing that the assistant vice principal at her high school did not have the right to search her purse on the grounds of her smoking a cigarette in the bathroom. Because TLO pleaded that the search of her purse violated the Fourth Amendment; The Supreme Court usually only deals with cases involving the Constitution.
Issue: The basic legal question being asked is if the assistant vice principal had reasonable suspicion of the student committing a crime or to maintain discipline or enforce policies to search her purse. TLO claims that the search violated her Fourth Amendment right and that her confession should be suppressed since it was only brought out due to the search. New Jersey is claiming that the search was legal, and that the assistant vice principal had probable cause to search the purse.
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The vote was 6-3 in favor of New Jersey. The Supreme Court stated that the search was reasonable because Choplick had reasonable suspicion since TLO was smoking in the restroom. The marijuana being in plain site justified the decision even more.
Dissenting Opinion: TLO’s reasoning was that the search violated the fourth amendment and that the confession should also be suppressed because it was brought up because of the search.
Summary: This case is important to us because it states that if a school official or administrator has reason to believe that a person has illegal materials based on the actions they have committed, then they have every right to search the items of the one that is being