View Case; Cited Cases; Citing Case ; Cited Cases . 47, 54 (N. D. N. Y. 5,429 F. Supp. Moreover, the presence of the dog and its trainer within the classroom, also at the request and supervision of the school officials, was only an aide to that official's observation of students. Professors, teachers and school administrators are increasingly faced with concerns not even thought of in previous decades. Care was taken by the school officials to provide custodians at each exit in case an emergency arose. This Court holds that, while there need not be a showing of probable cause in a case such as this, there must be demonstrated the existence of some articulable facts which together provided reasonable grounds to search the students, and that the search must have been in furtherance of a legitimate purpose with respect to which school officials are empowered to act, such as the maintenance of discipline or the detection and punishment of misconduct. Defendant Knox was employed in December of 1974 by the Auburn Enlarged City School District as the Superintendent of Schools. In analyzing the search to determine reasonableness, the Court must weigh the danger of the conduct, evidence of which is sought, against the students' right of privacy and the need to protect them from the humiliation and psychological harms associated with such a search. Plaintiff, however, contends that the walking up the aisles and the sniffing of the dog constituted a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment and, as such, it was not based upon probable cause and was therefore in violation of her constitutionally protected rights. Sometime that morning, and prior to the commencement of class, plaintiff Leonti complained to defendant Olson that he was missing $3.00 from his coat pocket. While it would seem self-evident that the actions of a teacher or school official employed by a public municipality board of education would constitute state action under Monroe v. Pape, supra, this has not been a universally held notion among the various federal courts.3 Compare Palacios v. Foltz, 441 F.2d 1196 (10th Cir. The First Circuit had held that such provided probable cause to believe that the footlocker contained a controlled substance. Julie BELLNIER, a minor by her father and next friend, Francis Bellnier, David J. Leonti, a minor by his father and next friend, Victor A. Leonti, Sr., Plaintiffs, This is an action whereby the plaintiff children, through their parents, Plaintiffs seek legal, injunctive, and declaratory relief in their action, which is maintained under, Jurisdiction is alleged to exist by virtue of. This is not to indicate that one attending public schools sheds his or her constitutional rights upon entering the school house doors; such is obviously not the case. The record here clearly discloses several fatal failures of the plaintiff to meet the elementary requirements of Rule 23. On the morning of December 6, 1974, plaintiffs and their classmates, members of the fifth grade class at Auburn's Lincoln Elementary School, arrived at the classroom in their usual fashion. In Palacios, the actions of a principal and vice-principal in refusing to allow a student to run for election to student government were found not to constitute state action, as being done pursuant to student government regulations, rather than school policy. See, M. v. Brooks v. Flagg Brothers, Inc., supra. An appeal by defendant Reardon to the class regarding knowledge of the missing money proved fruitless. Bellnier v. Lund, 438 F. Supp. A review of the pleadings, as supplemented by the affidavits of defendants Lund, Reardon, Parker, Butcher, and Knox, reveals that, with one minor exception which will not affect the outcome of the pending motion, there are no material issues of fact to be determined with respect to the question of defendants' liability. The *1017 canine teams spent approximately five minutes in each room. From U.S., Reporter Series 392 U.S. 1 - TERRY v. OHIO, Supreme Court of United States. Both parties have moved for a summary judgment, pursuant to F.R.C.P. However, when the dog has alerted as to a particular student in the above context and that student is removed from the basic routine as above described and taken to another area of the school for a more thorough examination of the student's body and clothing, another set of constitutional values comes into play. U. S. v. Ramsey,431 U.S. 606, 97 S. Ct. 1972, 52 L. Ed. Donate Now Interest of LLv. And, generally, the Fourth Amendment makes two demands of a government official wishing to carry out a search. A common thread that runs through all four of the above cited circuit cases was the fact that the law enforcement officers had previous independent information or "tips" concerning the whereabouts of the drugs that were later sniffed out by the dogs. In Warren, the action of four teachers in removing a student from the school's honor society was determined to be state action, inasmuch as the defendants were under contract with the school board, and the honor society utilized school facilities to hold its meetings. United States District Court, N. D. New York. State v. Mora,307 So. Plaintiff's contentions present before this Court unique issues both in the area of law concerning the Fourth Amendment and searches of students in public schools[8] and in the area of the use of canine units trained to detect evidence of drugs. Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the worlds leading publishers. den., 393 U.S. 891, 89 S. Ct. 212, 21 L. Ed. Of those fifty, eleven were subject to a more extensive search of the body. Turning to this case, the evidence shows the school administrators had compiled an extensive list of previous incidents of drug use within the school. 1 Wigmore, Evidence, Section 177(2) (3d Ed. Request a trial to view additional results. They also knew the intention by school officials to ask certain students to empty pockets or purses if the dog's alert continued. Accordingly, this Court holds that the defendants may be held liable under 42 U.S.C. 2d 419 (1970). Therefore, the defendants are immune from liability for compensatory and punitive damages arising out of the acts complained of.[4]. For example in Bellnier v. Lund, 438 F.Supp.47 (N.D.N.Y. STUDENT SEARCHES AND SEIZURES: LEGAL STANDARDS, POLICY, AND PROCEDURES. 2d 752 (1977). In Lopez, suspension of students by a principal was found to constitute state action where the procedures used and challenged on Due Process grounds were expressly provided for in the Ohio Constitution, and state statutes and corresponding regulations. Wood v. Strickland,420 U.S. 308, 95 S. Ct. 992, 43 L. Ed. Subjecting a student to a nude search is more than just the mild inconvenience of a pocket search, rather, it is an intrusion into an individual's basic justifiable expectation of privacy. 1975) (dissent); State v. Young, supra; 3) the Fourth Amendment applies, but the doctrine of in loco parentis lowers the standard to be applied in determining reasonableness of the search; People v. Singletary, 37 N.Y.2d 310, 372 N.Y.S.2d 68, 333 N.E.2d 369 (1975); People v. D., 34 N.Y.2d 483, 358 N.Y.S.2d 403, 315 N.E.2d 466 (1974); In re W.,29 Cal. 438 F.Supp. This is an action whereby the plaintiff children, through their parents comme next friends, seek redress for an allegedly unlawful strip search claimed to have been conducted or condoned by defendants, all of whom are employed by the Auburn Enlarged City School District in one capacity or another. [5] An alert is an indication of a trained canine that the odor of the drug, in this case marijuana, is present in the air or upon the individual. (It should be noted this case went off on the warrant requirement and not the existence of probable cause.). Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case. It was the unauthorized and nonconsensual opening of the locker and the inspection of its interior that constituted the unlawful search, not the use of the dog. 791 (S.D.N.Y.1974), aff'd, 506 F.2d 1395 (2d Cir. Obviously, under the reasoning of Johnson and Chadwick a description of a dog's conduct, training and experience by a knowledgeable person who can interpret the conduct of the dog as signaling the presence of a controlled substance would constitute the minimal requirement for finding probable cause. 20 pp. Each of the students entered the classroom and placed his outer garment in a coatroom located wholly within, and accessible only from, the classroom *50 itself. No fault is found with requiring a student to empty clothing pockets and/or purses upon the alert of a properly trained dog conducted by a properly trained person. In finding that the Fourth Amendment does apply in this case, this Court does not mean to imply that a showing of probable cause is necessary in order to uphold the search as reasonable. Defendant Knox's sole participation in the incident occurred on December 9, 1974, when, while speaking at a formal meeting of the School Board, he defended the legality of the search in issue. As was stated by the Court in Wood. A careful reading shows that the Supreme Court did specifically hold that there must be a link between the particular item sought and a suspected infraction, New Jersey v. T. L. 0., 469 U. S. at 345. This Court finds that joinder would have been permissible and that in light of counsel's motion to dismiss party plaintiffs it now DENIES plaintiff's motion for class certification. Plaintiff was asked if she had ever used marijuana to which she answered she had not. Pregnancy, Parenthood & Marriage 53 VII. Because smoking in the lavatory was a violation of a school rule, the teacher took the two girls to the Principal . Beginning in the fall of that year, concern over drug use within the school intensified as school officials recorded instances of drug use by students. [3] Compare Palacios v. Foltz, 441 F.2d 1196 (10th Cir. Unit School Dist. 741-742; see also Mapp v. Ohio,367 U.S. 643, 81 S. Ct. 1684, 6 L. Ed. However, in that case, the corporal punishment was specifically authorized by both state law and a local school board regulation. To be sure, the question may be close when the situation is frozen as of the time the search took place. 1977); State v. Baccino, 282 A.2d 869 (Del. On March 7, 1980, a teacher at Piscataway High School in Middlesex County, N. J., discovered two girls smoking in a lavatory. Plaintiff Doe was one of those students to which a dog continued to alert after she emptied her pockets. Moreover, the law in the area of student searches in public schools is obviously unsettled as suggested by the diversity of the theories and results in the cases cited here. Although the occupations of the 14 handlers did range from housewife to deputy county sheriffs, this Court attached no particular significance to their employment since each handler present was not actively engaged in their occupation. dents. 3d 777, 105 Cal. See also State v. Baccino, supra. Security, 581 F.2d 1167 (6th Cir. Being aware of prior complaints from class members of missing money, lunches, and other items, and knowing that no one had left the class-room that morning, defendant Reardon commenced a search of the class, with the aid of fellow teachers and school officials, all of whom are named as defendants herein. In Moore v. Student Affairs Committee of Troy State University,284 F. Supp. Provide custodians at each exit in case an emergency arose the plaintiff to meet the elementary requirements Rule... District as the Superintendent of Schools be sure, the Fourth Amendment makes two demands of government... 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