Find Court Cases > New Jersey v. T.L.O.

New Jersey v. T.L.O.

Case Date: 03/28/1984
Docket No: none

Facts of the Case 

T.L.O. was a fourteen-year-old; she was accused of smoking in the girls' bathroom of her high school. A principal at the school questioned her and searched her purse, yielding a bag of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.

Question 

Did the search violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments?

Argument New Jersey v. T.L.O. - Oral ArgumentFull Transcript Text  Download MP3New Jersey v. T.L.O. - Oral ReargumentFull Transcript Text  Download MP3 Conclusion  Decision: 6 votes for New Jersey, 3 vote(s) against Legal provision: Amendment 4: Fourth Amendment

No. Citing the peculiarities associated with searches on school grounds, the Court abandoned its requirement that searches be conducted only when a "probable cause" exists that an individual has violated the law. The Court used a less strict standard of "reasonableness" to conclude that the search did not violate the Constitution. The presence of rolling papers in the purse gave rise to a reasonable suspicion in the principal's mind that T.L.O. may have been carrying drugs, thus, justifying a more thorough search of the purse.