Thread: A small victory for Students

i think i had heard of this story but still was surprised to see it was part of the town i'm living in now

Originally Posted by bbc

The Arizona school, which bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs, suspected Savana Redding, then 13, of carrying ibuprofen.

After no drugs were found in her bag, she had to remove her clothing, and then move her bra and underwear.

However, the court said individuals could not be held liable in a lawsuit.

The school principal acted on a tip-off from another student that Savana was carrying ibuprofen.

Justice David Souter said: "What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear," Associated Press reported.

"We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable."

The justices said the lower courts would have to determine whether Safford United School District No. 1 could be held liable.

like i said at least it doesn't mean school can take away all the rights of the student. Just 99% of them

Originally Posted by Toker

Do you know how many times I was 'Silent Witnessed' and brought in to be searched in high school? God that fucking sucked..

no idea but its not hard for that to happen since to go to school in the U.S. a minor and their parents have to give the school the right to not follow the bill of rights

Man they did that in 1996 (or so) at my school when my bro was going through it. Strip searched every one in the room for a "supposed," missing 100 bucks. Man the parents of those kids just about came and tore the roof off that school after that.

thinking about it and brought up a question, do you think the same ruling would be made if it had been a 13 year old boy instead of a girl?

Originally Posted by Arreo

Originally Posted by Red_Lizard2

Originally Posted by Toker

Do you know how many times I was 'Silent Witnessed' and brought in to be searched in high school? God that fucking sucked..

no idea but its not hard for that to happen since to go to school in the U.S. a minor and their parents have to give the school the right to not follow the bill of rights

Schools still have to follow most of the bill of rights. See the the Tinker Case where it was ruled that the First Amendment still applied in schools.

I may be wrong since i can't find the case at the moment, but wasn't there a case in which it was found to be legal for a school to not allow students to hold up a sign during a school event? IIRC it wasn't a very offensive sign

from the Boston Globe on the case. BTW the decision was 8-1

The school's search of Redding's backpack and outer clothes was permissible, the court said. But the justices said that officials went too far when they asked to search her underwear.

A 1985 Supreme Court decision that dealt with searching a student's purse has found that school officials need only reasonable suspicions, not probable cause. But the court also warned against a search that is "excessively intrusive."

Originally Posted by Arreo

Originally Posted by Red_Lizard2

I may be wrong since i can't find the case at the moment, but wasn't there a case in which it was found to be legal for a school to not allow students to hold up a sign during a school event? IIRC it wasn't a very offensive sign

Correct, but the signs they were clearly advocating illegal drug use, which the Supreme Court decided was an exception to Free Speech guarantees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_v._Frederick

EDIT: I don't actually agree with the Supreme Court in Morse v. Frederick. I agree with the dessenting opinion offered by Justice Stevens when he wrote: "Admittedly, some high school students (including those who use drugs) are dumb. Most students, however, do not shed their brains at the schoolhouse gate, and most students know dumb advocacy when they see it. The notion that the message on this banner would actually persuade either the average student or even the dumbest one to change his or her behavior is most implausible."

thanks and i thought it was a pathetic ruling to allow, anyone who actually would be persuaded by the banner is a complete idiot. Plus it didn't advocate anything, not meant to be serious by any means.