Opinion ID: 3050150
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Search was Justified at its Inception

Text: [3] Based on the information available to them, Defendants had “reasonable grounds” for suspecting that the search of Redding’s person would turn up evidence that Redding had “violated or [was] violating either the law or the rules of the school.” See T.L.O., 469 U.S. at 341-43. At the time Defendants searched Redding, they had several key pieces of information tying her to the possession and distribution of pills in violation of school policy. Earlier that morning, Jordan told Vice Principal Wilson that Marissa possessed pills, had distributed at least one of those pills to Jordan, and planned to get together with a group of students to take pills at lunch. Wilson discovered pills on Marissa’s person during his search of her pockets and wallet. Marissa then volunteered that she had gotten the pills from Redding. [4] While decisional law from this circuit is sparse, other circuits have held that students who provide information implicating other students in illegal or otherwise prohibited activities are tantamount to “informants,” and have used case law from the criminal context to determine the circumstances under which such students’ “tips” could give rise to reasonable suspicion sufficient to justify a search. See, e.g., Phaneuf 12864 REDDING v. SAFFORD USD #1 v. Fraikin, 448 F.3d 591, 597-99 (2d Cir. 2006); Williams v. Ellington, 936 F.2d 881, 888 (6th Cir. 1991) (“We can correlate the allegations of a student, implicating a fellow student in unlawful activity, to the case of an informant’s tip.”). In Phaneuf, for example, the Second Circuit held that a student informant’s allegation regarding another student’s marijuana possession, while warranting “additional inquiry and investigation,” failed to justify the ensuing search of the suspected student’s person. Phaneuf, 448 F.3d at 598-99. The court noted that while the student informant made the tip “face-to-face,” claimed that her knowledge was based on a “direct conversation” with the plaintiff, and gave “relatively specific” information, her tip was nevertheless inadequate because there was no concrete evidence of her reliability, and the defendants had failed to make any effort to “investigate, corroborate, or otherwise substantiate [the tip] prior to ordering the strip search.” Id. at 598. [5] By contrast, in Williams, the Sixth Circuit held that a student informant’s tip sufficed to justify the ensuing search of another student’s person. 936 F.2d at 889. In that case, the court recognized that “[w]hile there is concern that students will be motivated by malice and falsely implicate other students in wrongdoing,” it noted that the defendant in Williams had “carefully questioned [the student informant] about any improper motive for making the allegations, and was satisfied none existed.” Id. at 888-89. In addition, the court pointed out that there was at least some independent evidence, separate and apart from the student’s tip, that could have led the defendant to “reasonably suspect [the plaintiff of] concealing evidence of illegal activity on her person.” Id. at 889. [6] The instant case is more analogous to the circumstances of Williams. Like the defendant in that case, Wilson did not order the search of Redding’s person based solely on an uncorroborated tip. Cf. Phaneuf, 448 F.3d at 598 (“[Defendant’s] acceptance of one student’s accusatory stateREDDING v. SAFFORD USD #1 12865 ment to initiate a highly intrusive search of another student — with no meaningful inquiry or corroboration — concerns us.”); see also id. at 598-99 (“While [an] uncorroborated tip no doubt justified additional inquiry and investigation by school officials, we are not convinced that it justified a step as intrusive as a strip search.”). To the contrary, he made diligent efforts to “investigate, corroborate, or otherwise substantiate [the tip]” prior to ordering the search. Cf. id. at 598. Upon receiving Jordan’s tip, which was given face-to-face, Wilson took reasonable steps to investigate Marissa, whom Jordan had implicated. See United States v. Salazar, 945 F.2d 47, 50-51 (2d Cir. 1991) (“[A] face-to-face informant must, as a general matter, be thought more reliable than an anonymous . . . tipster, for the former runs the greater risk that he may be held accountable if his information proves false.”). He interviewed Marissa, asked her a number of in-depth questions regarding the pills, and conducted a search of her person and belongings. After Wilson discovered pills, Marissa immediately attributed them to Redding. Even then, Wilson still refrained from immediately conducting a search of Redding’s person. To the contrary, he questioned Redding about her knowledge of the pills and her ownership of the black planner. It was only after Redding had acknowledged ownership of the planner, acknowledged her friendship with Marissa, and conceded that she had, in fact, lent her planner to Marissa with the express purpose of helping Marissa hide contraband from her parents, that Wilson proceeded to order the challenged search. [7] There was also sufficient evidence to support Jordan’s and Marissa’s veracity. Jordan’s tip was substantially corroborated by Defendant Wilson’s subsequent investigation of Marissa. See Phaneuf, 448 F.3d at 597 (noting that an informant whose information is corroborated by independent investigation tends to be more reliable because “an informant who is right about some facts is more likely to be right about others”). Jordan’s primary complaint was that Marissa possessed pills and had distributed at least one of the pills to him. 12866 REDDING v. SAFFORD USD #1 During the ensuing search of Marissa, Wilson did, in fact, find pills on Marissa’s person. [8] Ample facts supported Marissa’s veracity as an informant, as well. It is undisputed that school employees had witnessed Redding and Marissa socializing with the same group of friends, and presumably with each other, at the August school dance. Redding also acknowledged a friendship between Marissa and herself during her interview with Wilson. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, during that same interview, Redding conceded to Wilson that she had lent Marissa her planner to help Marissa conceal contraband from her parents. The girls’ friendship and prior interactions made Marissa’s accusations against Redding credible, and Wilson acted reasonably in relying upon those accusations in justifying his further investigation, and ultimate search, of Redding. [9] Finally, we note that there was at least some independent evidence, separate and apart from Jordan’s and Marissa’s respective tips, that supported Defendants’ suspicion that Redding was involved with the pills. Jordan had previously informed Wilson that Redding distributed alcohol to her classmates at her home prior to a school dance in August. As previously discussed, we accept Redding’s version of the disputed fact as true and assume, for purposes of this appeal, that Redding did not, in fact, serve alcohol at that party. But the fact that Jordan so informed the school officials was not disputed, and Redding has failed to show that this allegation, “even if untrue, w[as] not made or that [Defendants] could not reasonably believe [it] to be true.” Cornfield v. Consol. High Sch. Dist. No. 230, 991 F.2d 1316, 1323 (7th Cir. 1993). While this allegation, in itself, would not have been enough to justify Defendants’ subsequent search of Redding, it was a relevant factor which the school officials were entitled to take into account. See Phaneuf, 448 F.3d at 599 (“A student’s past history of drug use can be a factor adding to the mix in a school official’s decision to conduct a strip search.”). REDDING v. SAFFORD USD #1 12867 [10] Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not err in holding Defendants’ search of Redding’s person to be justified at its inception.