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Reasonable Suspicion Makes Students Doubt Legal Authority

Sarah Jane Foreman, Assistant Professor at the University of Detroit, "Countering

Criminalization: Toward a Youth Development Approach to School Searches,"
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, August 4, 2010,
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1652971&download=yes

Quote in Contention:
In an article for the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Sarah Jane
Foreman stated, “Children, particularly adolescents, who are subjected to these
searches under the very low bar of reasonable suspicion, may feel that the law is
unfair and question its legitimacy because they have been treated with distrust and
disrespect by adults in positions of authority.”

Additional Quotes:

1. “However, one study focusing on adolescents found that perceptions of

procedural justice did correlate to views regarding the legitimacy of the law.
This suggests that adolescents who feel that they have been treated fairly by
legal authorities such as SROs will be legally socialized to have a positive
orientation toward view of legal authority in general.”

2. “Even if they do not understand the vagaries of reasonable suspicion and

how it differs from probable cause, young people can appreciate basic
concepts of fairness, dignity and respect. Repeated experiences with legal
actors who seem to abuse their authority contributes to a sense of
humiliation, rejection, and alienation that eventually leads students to seek
acceptance and recognition in other, less “mainstream” venues.”

3. “The constant suspicion with which students are regarded under the current
paradigm pushes them into a defensive posture that hinders their ability to
become active and engaged citizens of their community and nation.”