New Jersey v. T.L.

O (January 15, 1985)

T.L.O and her friend were found smoking on campus. T.L.O’s friend confessed but T.L.O
denied, so the assistant principle searched her purse and discovered that she was dealing drugs.
The State of New Jersey brought delinquency charges against T.L.O. The plaintiff is New Jersey
and the defendant is T.L.O.

The court ruled that the search was justified and no violation of the 4th amendment was made.
The majority opinion, made by Justice Byron White, said the school may search if there is
probable cause. The dissenting opinion, given by Justice John Paul Stevese, said the search
invaded T.L.O’s privacy, and that because there was no warrant the assistant principle should not
be allowed to search. The vote was 6-3.

This case made it clear that the court dose not view the rights of students in a public school as
equivalent to the rights of adults in a non school setting. It also established that schools only need
“reasonable suspicion” to perform searches.