Definitions
Power and status are irrelevant to legal rights. The same laws must govern all persons, and all persons are equally bound by the laws.
What is the rule of law?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
What is First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
To justify a challenged search, government officials must establish sufficient cause for the search. Also known as what?
What is probable cause or reasonable suspicion?
Requires that government agents must treat individuals fairly in actions that significantly affect their life, liberty, or property rights.
What is due process?
True or False: School officials conduct a search of school owned computers and email. Evidence found was used to support school media policy violation charges. The evidence of the unlawful activities was turned over to the police. This was illegal.
What is false? Individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy when using school owned computers, media, email systems, etc. School officials may search the school owned systems anytime without providing any warning or justification.
Public school students and employees must be provided with reasonable accommodations for the free exercise of religion including days off for required religious observances and exemptions from activities that conflict with sincerely held religious beliefs.
What is a reasonable accommodation?
Under this clause, all government agents are required to remain neutral concerning religion while acting in their official capacities.
What is the Establishment Clause?
True or False: Searches of student lockers are legal.
What is true? There is generally no reasonable expectation of privacy in property owned, controlled, and supervised by the school. Therefore, school officials may routinely examine the contents of school lockers for custodial, safety, or other legitimate purposes.
Fill in the blank: Even when government officials are acting in good faith, due process of law helps to guard against errors and preventable mistakes by introducing procedural and substantive __ and __ into the process.
What are checks and balances?
To avoid discriminating against anyone, school officials equally searched all students in the classroom for the $15 that was believed to be stolen. The school officials conducted a lawful search. True or False.
What is false? Under these circumstances, searching everyone in a mass "blanket search" is unreasonable. The reasonableness of a search is judged by weighing the legitimate need to search against the intrusiveness of the search. For this reason, a search for a relatively trivial amount of money is always a bad idea.
This act prohibits discrimination based on the "religious, political, philosophical, or other content" of speech at school sanctioned student initiated meetings. The Act applies when school officials subject to the Act create a limited open forum by allowing non-curriculum related student groups to meet.
What is the Equal Access Act?
Judicial test that asks whether government officials are using the power or prestige of the state to coerce belief or practice concerning religion.
What is the coercion test?
Courts have recognized legitimate "administrative searches" as an exception to the general rules that searches require 1) individualized suspicion; and 2) sufficient cause to justify the search under the circumstances. Name an example of a legitimate "administrative search."
What is the use of metal detectors?
A formal proceeding to receive relevant evidence and testimony for the purpose of revealing the truth and reaching a just result.
What is a hearing?
These regulations are an important administrative tool for respecting First Amendment rights and avoiding unwarranted disruptions or safety hazards.
What are reasonable TIME, PLACE, and MANNER (TPM) regulations?
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in objects or conduct in plain public view (i.e., including normal sight, hearing, smell, feeling of vibrations, etc.).
What is the plain view doctrine?
True or False: Coach led prayers were/are a tradition, especially in the South. It is lawful for public school coaches to lead students in prayers.
What is false? Local tradition does not trump the U.S. Constitution.
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in objects or conduct in plain public view (i.e., including normal sight, hearing, smell, feeling of vibrations, etc.).
What is the plain view doctrine?
Two significant dangers due process guards against are
1. Abuse of power; and
2. Erroneous decisions.
True or False: School officials or law enforcement officials have to inform students of their legal rights prior to conducting a search.
What is false? A "Miranda warning" is only required to inform a person of applicable rights prior to police interrogation when that person is in police custody. No warning or information is required when lawfully searching an individual.
An out-of-hearing statement offered in evidence as proof of the matter asserted, including repeating rumors, second-hand statements, etc.
What is hearsay?
True or False: Public school students can lead and participate in team prayers.
What is true? As private citizens, students have a constitutional right to pray if they choose to.
True or False: Any evidence of a crime found in a lawful search by school officials may be turned over to police.
Requires that government rules must be clearly defined so that persons of ordinary intelligence can reasonably know what is required or prohibited.
What is the vagueness doctrine?
Supreme Court Case that overruled Plessy (Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) and declared racial segregation of public schools unconstitutional.
What is Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)?