Supreme Court case - legal to strip search 13 year old girl? [news item]

[KillahBee]

Dear Diary,

Jackpot.

KB

 

[jnevin]

Dear Diary,

Jackpot.

KB

LMAO

I actually thought of you when I first read the title.

 

[cindylou]

The article states they were prescription drugs. It doesn't matter if it is Advil or oxy. If the school rules prohibit the possession of prescription meds then it is against the rules to possess them. Rules are rules.

Students do have 'rights' but not the same right as others. The Supreme Court has addressed student rights in other contexts. For example, freedom of speech. Just because a student has freedom of speech doesn't mean a student can just talk out loud in class and disrupt the teaching process. The students rights are limited in a class room setting. An 18 year old has the right to bear arms but that doesn't give the student a right to bring a glock to class. The Supreme Court has recognized in many instances that the rules schools establish trump rights. Otherwise there would be chaos.

Students do have a right against unreasonable searches and seizures. The threshold issue in this case is whether the search was unreasonable. That is debatable. I do not think it is unreasonable. I had a friend in school who ate quite a bit of acid tabs when they were going to search him. Just like Sub-Zero said, people hide stuff all the time. IF the school authorities had a reasonable belief that she possessed contraband, and they has a reasonable belief that it was hidden on her person, then it is reasonable that they conduct a strip search.

lol @ your sig! hahaha

But she didnt HAVE the drugs..they were going off the accusation of another student... There is no reason to strip search for ibuprofen when all you have is another child accusing another of having the drug. They should have searched her locker, her purse and her pockets and belongings and sent her back to class. Thats it. Common sense. Also, this child had never gotten in trouble before and there was no reason to think that she would break the rules.

I would have ripped my kid right out of that school. This is totally unacceptable. She had to spread her legs open and pull her out her underwear! Is she in prision?? This is awful. Is this really what public school is coming to?

They should have called the parents first at least. At least. I hope the child that slandered her was expelled.

 

[needtogetarmy]

lol @ your sig! hahaha

But she didnt HAVE the drugs..they were going off the accusation of another student... There is no reason to strip search for ibuprofen when all you have is another child accusing another of having the drug. They should have searched her locker, her purse and her pockets and belongings and sent her back to class. Thats it. Common sense. Also, this child had never gotten in trouble before and there was no reason to think that she would break the rules.

I would have ripped my kid right out of that school. This is totally unacceptable. She had to spread her legs open and pull her out her underwear! Is she in prision?? This is awful. Is this really what public school is coming to?

They should have called the parents first at least. At least. I hope the child that slandered her was expelled.

I pretty much agree. The facts of each case determine what is a reasonable search. The article only covers a part of it so there may be other things going on.

 

[Sub-Zero]

lol @ your sig! hahaha

But she didnt HAVE the drugs..they were going off the accusation of another student... There is no reason to strip search for ibuprofen when all you have is another child accusing another of having the drug. They should have searched her locker, her purse and her pockets and belongings and sent her back to class. Thats it. Common sense. Also, this child had never gotten in trouble before and there was no reason to think that she would break the rules.

I would have ripped my kid right out of that school. This is totally unacceptable. She had to spread her legs open and pull her out her underwear! Is she in prision?? This is awful. Is this really what public school is coming to?

They should have called the parents first at least. At least. I hope the child that slandered her was expelled.

she ate em

 

[cindylou]

she ate em

She got rid of her headache

 

[needtogetarmy]

On another note.

This article is in the NY Times which is very biased and that article is geared towards supporting the student. It glosses over the facts.

So, recognizing it is a one sided story, I went and looked at the court briefs so I could get a good look at the actual facts argued in the case. You can read it too:

http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/pdfs/07-08/08-479_Petitioner.pdf

This girl is anything but a nice little girl that is being unfairly accused. Read the supporting facts. I think the school had the grounds to strip search her.

Don't believe everything you read in the press. They want to brainwash you. Don't believe me either. Read the petitioners brief.

 

[cindylou]

Thats totally different from the article. lol.

What a mess. I believe that principals can also get caught up in the "drama" too. They should have just suspended both girls on the spot. 10 days out of school suspension. That would have eased his conscience about drugs being sold on campus when the girls are not even on school grounds to sell or give out the pills.

It is what it is though, I can understand the strip search. (which was not spreading her legs like the article said just shaking the elastic in her underwear) Maybe in the future they should call the parents first.

 

[ceo]

Dear Diary,

Jackpot.

KB

Now if only they'd bring back spankings!

 

[needtogetarmy]

Thats totally different from the article. lol.

What a mess. I believe that principals can also get caught up in the "drama" too. They should have just suspended both girls on the spot. 10 days out of school suspension. That would have eased his conscience about drugs being sold on campus when the girls are not even on school grounds to sell or give out the pills.

It is what it is though, I can understand the strip search. (which was not spreading her legs like the article said just shaking the elastic in her underwear) Maybe in the future they should call the parents first.

I think they school needs clear guidelines and parents know about these guidelines. I can easily see how this strip search could get out of hand. When I was in the military we had clear guidelines for such things (even a manual for it!) so when something came up you literally followed the book, step-by-step. The same with urine tests. I didn't like everything I had to do, and when people bitched, I would always point to the manual and say "here are the rules - I gotta do it and you know the deal." I do not think the school has such policies and procedures in place. It does seem the strip search was a little ad hoc.

Anyway, I am curious as to how the Supreme Court will rule.