New Jersey v. TLO - Wikipedia New Jersey v. TLO This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( February 2009 ) New Jersey v. T.L.O. Supreme Court of the United States Argued March 28, 1984 Reargued October 2, 1984 Decided January 15, 1985 Full case name New Jersey v. T.L.O. Citations 469 U.S. 325 ( more ) 105 S. Ct. 733 ; 83 L. Ed. 2d 720 ; 1985 U.S. LEXIS 41 ; 53 U.S.L.W. 4083 Prior history Defendant convicted sub. nom. State ex rel. T.L.O. 178 N.J. Super. 329, 428 A. 2d 1327 ( Middlesex County Ct., 1980 ) ; Affirmed, 185 N.J. Super. 279, 448 A. 2d 493 ( App. Div., 1982 ) ; conviction reversed 94 N.J. 331, 463 A. 2d 934 ( 1983 ) Holding The Fourth Amendment 's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures applies to searches conducted by public school officials ( administrators ), and the search of student 's purse was reasonable. Court membership Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. Byron White Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist John P. Stevens Sandra Day O'Connor Case opinions Majority White, joined by Burger, Powell, Rehnquist, O'Connor Concurrence Powell, joined by O'Connor Concurrence Blackmun Concur / dissent Brennan, joined by Marshall Concur / dissent Stevens, joined by Marshall ; Brennan ( Part I ) Laws applied U.S. Const. amend IV New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 ( 1985 ), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States addressing the constitutionality of a search of a public high school student for contraband after she was caught smoking. A subsequent search of her purse revealed drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and documentation of drug sales. She was charged as a juvenile for the drugs and paraphernalia found in the search. She fought the search, claiming it violated her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6 -- 3 ruling, held that the search by the Piscataway Township Schools was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Contents 1 Background 2 Court decision 3 Concurrence 4 See also 5 References Background A teacher at Piscataway High School in New Jersey, upon discovering respondent, then a 14 - year - old freshman, and her companion smoking cigarettes in a school lavatory in violation of a school rule, took them to the Principal 's office, where they met with the Assistant Vice Principal. When respondent, in response to the Assistant Vice Principal 's questioning, denied that she had been smoking and claimed that she did not smoke at all, the Assistant Vice Principal demanded to see her purse. After TLO was forced to hand over the purse, he observed a pack of cigarettes. Assistant Vice Principal Choplick kept searching through the purse because rolling papers were in plain view, and his search revealed a small amount of marijuana, rolling papers, a pipe, empty plastic bags, a large quantity of money in $1 bills, an index card that appeared to list students who owed TLO money, and two letters that implicated TLO in dealing marijuana. The principal then called the police and the girl 's mother, who voluntarily drove her to the police station. She was convicted of dealing and use of illicit drugs. She was expelled from the school and fined $1,000. Court decision The Supreme Court of the United States, in a 6 -- 3 decision issued by Justice White, balancing between the individual 's -- even a child 's -- legitimate expectation of privacy and the school 's interest in maintaining order and discipline, held for the appellant ( the state ). According to school officials, they do require a `` reasonable suspicion '' to perform a search. Her possession of any cigarettes was relevant to whether or not she was being truthful, and since she had been caught in the bathroom and taken directly to the office, it was reasonable to assume she had the cigarettes in her purse. Thus, the vice-principal had reasonable cause to suspect a school rule had been broken, and more than just a `` hunch '' to search the purse. When the vice-principal was searching for the cigarettes, the drug - related evidence was in plain view. Plain view is an exception to the warrant requirement of the 4th Amendment. Thus, the reasonable search for cigarettes led to some of the drug related material being discovered, which justified a search ( including the zippered compartments inside the bag ) resulting in the discovery of the cigarettes and other evidence including a small bag of marijuana and cigarette rolling papers. The Supreme Court overturned the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling. Concurrence In a separate concurring opinion, Justice Powell ( joined by Justice O'Connor ) stated that while he agreed with the Court 's opinion, he felt that students in primary and secondary educational settings should not be afforded the same level of protection for search and seizures as adults and juveniles in non-school settings. Justice Brennan, joined by Justice Marshall, agreed with the majority 's reasoning regarding a balancing approach to school searches. He disagreed, however, with the new standard set down by the Court, which he felt was a departure from the traditional `` probable cause '' approach. He explained : Today 's decision sanctions school officials to conduct full scale searches on a ' reasonableness ' standard whose only definite content is that it is not the same test as the ' probable cause ' standard found in the text of the Fourth Amendment. In adopting this unclear, unprecedented, and unnecessary departure from generally Fourth Amendment standards, the Court carves out a broad exception to standards that this Court has developed over years of considering Fourth Amendment problems. Its decision is supported neither by precedent nor even by a fair application of the ' Balancing test of power ' it proclaims in this very opinion. See also List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 469 Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton Board of Education v. Earls Safford Unified School District v. Redding Terry v. Ohio 4th Amendment Supreme Court Cases References Text of New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 ( 1985 ) is available from : Findlaw Justia Oyez.org summary Summary on LandmarkCases.org ( 1 ) United States 4th Amendment case law Scope of the Fourth Amendment What constitutes a search ? Ex parte Jackson ( 1878 ) Boyd v. United States ( 1886 ) Gouled v. United States ( 1921 ) Burdeau v. McDowell ( 1921 ) Hester v. United States ( 1924 ) United States v. Lee ( 1927 ) Olmstead v. United States ( 1928 ) Goldman v. United States ( 1942 ) On Lee v. United States ( 1952 ) Abel v. United States ( 1960 ) Silverman v. United States ( 1961 ) Lewis v. United States ( 1966 ) Hoffa v. United States ( 1966 ) Katz v. United States ( 1967 ) Terry v. Ohio ( 1968 ) United States v. White ( 1971 ) California Bankers Association v. Schultz ( 1974 ) Smith v. Maryland ( 1979 ) Walter v. United States ( 1980 ) United States v. Knotts ( 1983 ) United States v. Place ( 1983 ) Illinois v. Andreas ( 1983 ) United States v. Jacobsen ( 1984 ) Oliver v. United States ( 1984 ) United States v. Karo ( 1984 ) California v. Ciraolo ( 1986 ) Dow Chemical Co. v. United States ( 1986 ) United States v. Dunn ( 1987 ) California v. Greenwood ( 1988 ) Florida v. Riley ( 1989 ) Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives Ass'n ( 1989 ) United States v. Verdugo - Urquidez ( 1990 ) Bond v. United States ( 2000 ) Kyllo v. United States ( 2001 ) Illinois v. Caballes ( 2005 ) United States v. Jones ( 2012 ) Florida v. Jardines ( 2013 ) Klayman v. Obama ( 2013 ) ACLU v. Clapper ( 2013 ) Carpenter v. United States ( 2018 ) What constitutes a seizure ? Counselman v. Hitchcock ( 1892 ) Hale v. Henkel ( 1906 ) Terry v. Ohio ( 1968 ) United States v. Mendenhall ( 1980 ) Florida v. Royer ( 1983 ) United States v. Jacobsen ( 1984 ) INS v. Delgado ( 1984 ) Michigan v. Chesternut ( 1988 ) Brower v. County of Inyo ( 1989 ) California v. Hodari D. ( 1991 ) Florida v. Bostick ( 1991 ) Soldal v. Cook County ( 1992 ) United States v. Drayton ( 2002 ) Brendlin v. California ( 2007 ) Fourth Amendment standing Jones v. United States ( 1960 ) Rakas v. Illinois ( 1978 ) Minnesota v. Olson ( 1990 ) Minnesota v. Carter ( 1998 ) Byrd v. United States ( 2018 ) Probable Cause Dumbra v. United States ( 1925 ) Brinegar v. United States ( 1949 ) Draper v. United States ( 1959 ) Aguilar v. Texas ( 1964 ) Spinelli v. United States ( 1969 ) Hill v. California ( 1971 ) Illinois v. Gates ( 1983 ) Ornelas v. United States ( 1996 ) Whren v. United States ( 1996 ) Maryland v. Pringle ( 2003 ) Florida v. Harris ( 2013 ) Reasonable suspicion : Investigative detentions and frisks Terry v. Ohio ( 1968 ) Sibron v. New York ( 1968 ) Adams v. Williams ( 1972 ) United States v. Brignoni - Ponce ( 1975 ) Delaware v. Prouse ( 1979 ) Michigan v. DeFillippo ( 1979 ) Brown v. Texas ( 1979 ) Ybarra v. Illinois ( 1979 ) United States v. Cortez ( 1981 ) United States v. Place ( 1983 ) Michigan v. Long ( 1983 ) United States v. Hensley ( 1985 ) United States v. Sokolow ( 1989 ) Alabama v. White ( 1990 ) Minnesota v. Dickerson ( 1996 ) Illinois v. Wardlow ( 2000 ) Florida v. J.L. ( 2000 ) United States v. Arvizu ( 2002 ) Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada ( 2004 ) Arizona v. Johnson ( 2009 ) Prado Navarette v. California ( 2014 ) Heien v. North Carolina ( 2014 ) Warrant Requirement Steele v. United States ( 1925 ) Johnson v. United States ( 1948 ) Franks v. Delaware ( 1978 ) Ybarra v. Illinois ( 1979 ) Maryland v. Garrison ( 1987 ) Groh v. Ramirez ( 2004 ) United States v. Grubbs ( 2006 ) Los Angeles County v. Rettelle ( 2006 ) Mere evidence rule Boyd v. United States ( 1886 ) Hale v. Henkel ( 1906 ) Gouled v. United States ( 1921 ) Marron v. United States ( 1927 ) Warden v. Hayden ( 1967 ) Neutral and detached magistrate Coolidge v. New Hampshire ( 1971 ) Shadwick v. City of Tampa ( 1972 ) Connally v. Georgia ( 1977 ) Warrants directed at third parties Zurcher v. Stanford Daily ( 1978 ) Knock - and - announce Wilson v. Arkansas ( 1995 ) Richards v. Wisconsin ( 1997 ) United States v. Ramirez ( 1998 ) United States v. Banks ( 2003 ) Presence of media Wilson v. Layne ( 1999 ) Exceptions to Warrant Requirement Exigent circumstances Warden v. Hayden ( 1967 ) United States v. Chadwick ( 1977 ) Michigan v. Tyler ( 1978 ) Payton v. New York ( 1980 ) Welsh v. Wisconsin ( 1986 ) Brigham City v. Stuart ( 2006 ) Kentucky v. King ( 2011 ) Consent searches Amos v. United States ( 1921 ) Bumper v. North Carolina ( 1968 ) Schneckloth v. Bustamonte ( 1973 ) United States v. Matlock ( 1974 ) Illinois v. Rodriguez ( 1990 ) Georgia v. Randolph ( 2006 ) Fernandez v. California ( 2014 ) Plain view Coolidge v. New Hampshire ( 1971 ) Arizona v. Hicks ( 1987 ) Horton v. California ( 1990 ) Minnesota v. Dickerson ( 1993 ) Vehicle searches Carroll v. United States ( 1925 ) Chambers v. Maroney ( 1970 ) Cardwell v. Lewis ( 1974 ) Arkansas v. Sanders ( 1979 ) United States v. Ross ( 1982 ) California v. Carney ( 1985 ) Florida v. Jimeno ( 1991 ) California v. Acevedo ( 1991 ) Wyoming v. Houghton ( 1999 ) Florida v. White ( 1999 ) Collins v. Virginia ( 2018 ) Searches incident to arrest Agnello v. United States ( 1925 ) Harris v. United States ( 1947 ) Trupiano v. United States ( 1948 ) United States v. Rabinowitz ( 1950 ) Chimel v. California ( 1969 ) United States v. Robinson ( 1973 ) United States v. Chadwick ( 1977 ) New York v. Belton ( 1981 ) Knowles v. Iowa ( 1998 ) Thornton v. United States ( 2004 ) Arizona v. Gant ( 2009 ) Riley v. California ( 2014 ) Breathalyzers, blood samples, DNA Schmerber v. California ( 1966 ) Cupp v. Murphy ( 1973 ) Missouri v. McNeely ( 2013 ) Maryland v. King ( 2013 ) Birchfield v. North Dakota ( 2016 ) Protective sweeps Maryland v. Buie ( 1990 ) Inventory searches South Dakota v. Opperman ( 1976 ) Illinois v. Lafayette ( 1983 ) Border searches Almeida - Sanchez v. United States ( 1973 ) United States v. Ortiz ( 1975 ) United States v. Martinez - Fuerte ( 1976 ) United States v. Ramsey ( 1977 ) United States v. Montoya De Hernandez ( 1985 ) United States v. Flores - Montano ( 2004 ) `` Special needs '' searches : Checkpoints Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz ( 1990 ) City of Indianapolis v. Edmond ( 2000 ) Illinois v. Lidster ( 2004 ) `` Special needs '' searches : Students, employees, and patients New Jersey v. T.L.O. ( 1985 ) O'Connor v. Ortega ( 1987 ) Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives Ass'n ( 1989 ) National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab ( 1989 ) Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton ( 1995 ) Chandler v. Miller ( 1997 ) Ferguson v. City of Charleston ( 2001 ) Board of Education v. Earls ( 2002 ) Safford Unified School District v. Redding ( 2009 ) City of Ontario v. Quon ( 2010 ) `` Special needs '' searches : Property of probationers and parolees Griffin v. Wisconsin ( 1987 ) United States v. Knights ( 2001 ) Samson v. California ( 2006 ) Administrative inspections Frank v. Maryland ( 1959 ) Camara v. Municipal Court ( 1967 ) See v. City of Seattle ( 1967 ) Marshall v. Barlow 's, Inc. ( 1978 ) Donovan v. Dewey ( 1980 ) New York v. Burger ( 1987 ) Michigan v. Clifford ( 1984 ) City of Los Angeles v. Patel ( 2015 ) Searches in jails and prisons Bell v. Wolfish ( 1979 ) Hudson v. Palmer ( 1984 ) Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders ( 2012 ) Searches at sea United States v. Villamonte - Marquez ( 1983 ) Warrantless arrests Gerstein v. Pugh ( 1975 ) United States v. Watson ( 1976 ) Payton v. New York ( 1980 ) Welsh v. Wisconsin ( 1983 ) Minnesota v. Olson ( 1990 ) County of Riverside v. McLaughlin ( 1991 ) Atwater v. City of Lago Vista ( 2001 ) Devenpeck v. Alford ( 2004 ) Virginia v. Moore ( 2008 ) Seizures Distinguishing stops and arrests Dunaway v. New York ( 1979 ) Florida v. Royer ( 1983 ) United States v. Place ( 1983 ) United States v. Sharpe ( 1985 ) Seizure of premises awaiting warrant Illinois v. McArthur ( 2001 ) Detention incident to search Michigan v. Summers ( 1981 ) Muehler v. Mena ( 2005 ) Bailey v. United States ( 2013 ) Detention during vehicle stop Pennsylvania v. Mimms ( 1977 ) Maryland v. Wilson ( 1997 ) Rodriguez v. United States ( 2015 ) Excessive force Tennessee v. Garner ( 1985 ) Graham v. Connor ( 1989 ) Scott v. Harris ( 2007 ) Plumhoff v. Rickard ( 2014 ) Remedies Exclusionary rule Origins Adams v. New York ( 1904 ) Weeks v. United States ( 1914 ) Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States ( 1920 ) Impeachment exception Agnello v. United States ( 1925 ) Walder v. United States ( 1954 ) United States v. Havens ( 1980 ) James v. Illinois ( 1990 ) Good - faith exception United States v. Leon ( 1984 ) Massachusetts v. Sheppard ( 1984 ) Illinois v. Krull ( 1987 ) Herring v. United States ( 2009 ) Davis v. United States ( 2011 ) Independent source Segura v. United States ( 1984 ) Murray v. United States ( 1988 ) Inevitable discovery Nix v. Williams ( 1984 ) Attenuation Wong Sun v. United States ( 1963 ) Utah v. Strieff ( 2016 ) No - knock searches Hudson v. Michigan ( 2006 ) Use outside criminal trials Kaufman v. United States ( 1969 ) United States v. Calandra ( 1974 ) Stone v. Powell ( 1976 ) INS v. Lopez - Mendoza ( 1984 ) Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole v. Scott ( 1998 ) Civil suit Federal Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents ( 1971 ) Anderson v. Creighton ( 1987 ) State 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Monroe v. Pape ( 1961 ) Malley v. Briggs ( 1986 ) Incorporation against States Unreasonable search and seizure Wolf v. Colorado ( 1949 ) Rochin v. California ( 1952 ) Irvine v. California ( 1954 ) Elkins v. United States ( 1960 ) Mapp v. Ohio ( 1961 ) Warrant requirements Ker v. California ( 1963 ) Aguilar v. Texas ( 1964 ) Rights of students under the United States Constitution case law First Amendment school prayer Zorach v. Clauson ( 1952 ) Engel v. Vitale ( 1962 ) Abington School District v. Schempp ( 1963 ) Stone v. Graham ( 1980 ) Wallace v. Jaffree ( 1985 ) Lee v. Weisman ( 1992 ) Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe ( 2000 ) Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow ( 2004 ) First Amendment school speech Minersville School District v. Gobitis ( 1940 ) West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette ( 1943 ) Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District ( 1969 ) Island Trees School District v. Pico ( 1982 ) Bethel School District v. Fraser ( 1986 ) Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier ( 1988 ) Rosenberger v. University of Virginia ( 1995 ) Morse v. Frederick ( 2007 ) Fourth Amendment Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement New Jersey v. T.L.O. ( 1985 ) Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton ( 1995 ) Board of Education v. Earls ( 2002 ) Safford Unified School District v. Redding ( 2009 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Jersey_v._T._L._O.&oldid=840446697 '' Categories : United States Supreme Court cases United States Fourth Amendment case law Student rights case law in the United States United States controlled substances case law 1985 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court 1985 in education Piscataway, New Jersey Cannabis in New Jersey Education in Middlesex County, New Jersey Smoking in the United States Hidden categories : Articles lacking in - text citations from February 2009 All articles lacking in - text citations Talk Contents About Wikipedia 한국어 Edit links This page was last edited on 9 May 2018, at 23 : 08. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who wrote the majority opinion in new jersey v tlo
Answer: Byron White