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Supreme Court Explores High School Searches, Personal Drama
Sam Guzik is now a contributor for The Cram, a student news arm of the newly launched PoliticsDaily.com. To follow his future work, click here.
The Supreme Court is one of the United States's most venerable institutions, packed with nine of the nation's best legal minds, so it makes sense that they might be a little too busy to keep up with popular culture. Comments during the oral arguments in a case earlier this week, though, take out of touch to a new level.
Safford Unified School District v. Redding, heard by the court on Tuesday, asks the justices to weigh in on the constitutionality of strip searching students in schools when administrators have received a tip about hidden contraband but no location-specific information. While sorting through the complex fourth amendment issues, Justices found themselves transported back to their own time in school.
Take Justice Breyer, who wondered how the strip search was any different than what he had to endure while being forced to change for gym class and, less relevantly, while being teased by fellow students.
"In my experience when I was 8 or 10 or 12 years old, you know, we did take our clothes off once a day, we changed for gym, OK? And in my experience, too, people did sometimes stick things in my underwear," said Breyer while trying to point out that it might not be unusual for children to hide things from teachers in their underwear. As the court broke out into laughter, Breyer quickly added, "Or not my underwear. Whatever. Whatever."
Putting aside the troublesome assumption that forcing students to change for gym is analogous with forcing a 13-year-old girl to expose her breasts and pelvic region to school administrators, Justice Breyer's anecdote should be enough to start shaking your head at the Court.
Justice Scalia was surprised to learn that students sometimes sniff markers to get high when he asked why the school was attempting to confiscate them from students. "They sniff them?" Scalia said. "That's what kids do, your honor, unfortunately," said Matthew Wright, the representative for the petitioners. "Really?" Scalia responded.
The Court is expected to find against Savana Redding, now 19 (pictured at right), when it rules on the case in June based on the precedent of several other cases that establish a lower standard for administration searches of schools. During the oral arguments, only Justice Ginsberg--coincidentally the only woman on the court--seemed shocked by the situation, observing the differences between Justice Breyer's experience in the men's locker room and Redding's search.
"It wasn't just that they were stripped to their underwear! They were asked to shake their bra out, to stretch the top of their pants and shake that out!" she said.
According to USA Today, The National Association of Social Workers - joined by the National Education Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children - sides with Redding in a court filing. "Social science research demonstrates that strip searches can traumatize children and adolescents and result in serious emotional damage," they say, citing studies in educational and legal journals.
After the strip search, Savana never returned to Safford Middle School. She transferred to other schools but never obtained her high school degree. She is currently taking classes at a community college and working to prepare for her GED.Join The Discussion
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Previous 20 Comments
Bill Black
11:54PM 11:54PM Apr 30th 2009
We could all learn a lot from crayons.
Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, all have different colors but they all live in the same box.
Have a nice day.
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SMRTNUP
4:50PM 4:50PM May 1st 2009
The Communist Hammer and Sycle are CHIP, CHIP, CHIPPING AWAY at our Elected Officials are holding the handles. . . . Every time we stand by and watch as they take yet another RIGHT away from us, . . We are providing the NAILS for our COFFIN !!! . .
WAKE UP AMERICANS, . . STAND UP THE FIGHT AGAINST THE THEFT OF OUR LIBERTIES . . .
We are being slowly and steadily conditioned to ACCEPT the YOKE OF TYRANNY ! . . .
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Bonnie B Matheson
9:35AM 9:35AM May 3rd 2009
You are so right. People are just letting this happen. Why doesn't anyone fight? Why does the media not speak up? How can the politicians live with themselves while they dismantle everything this country is supposed to stand for. Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? I tremble for my country, for my children and my grandchildren. They will never know what a great country this was, and how free and full of good will it used to be.( I know some will site abuses to do with race or gender, but over all the country was much more cautious about abusing any person's right's to individual freedom)
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adartist777
6:23PM 6:23PM May 1st 2009
Ya know...America hasn't been free for a long time. Corporations run Washington. And corporations tell our politicians and judges what they should do through lobbyists. And to add to that, our government wants American citizens to fear terrorists and the police because it keeps us from openly protesting disagreement with our government's policies. Strip searching students is one way and the war on drugs is another. Then we get taxed to death both locally and federally. You never own your property because if you don't pay your taxes, your government takes the property you bought and paid for, away from you. Corporations don't want universal health care because they know that if you stop working for them, you'll lose your health insurance and they'll lose their control over you. Personally, I'm fed up with all of this talk of freedom, because it just doesn't exist in America anymore. You can be patriotic all you want, but it means absolutely nothing. America hasn't been free for decades and it's going to get worse than better. Think about this, our government gave all our tax money to banks and corporations. If every American had received a moderate stipend from the government instead of the banks, many people could have started small businesses and those small businesses could have grown to hire new employees. It just makes me sick. Freedom, what a crock. People are losing their homes and corporate jobs, going hungry and just getting by. Enough is enough. There are other countries better than America on this planet that treat their citizens better than our politicians treat us!
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tom
10:50AM 10:50AM May 3rd 2009
YES, . . Bonnie B Matheson, . . I too tremble to think what will become of America if it's left to our current President and Congress. . . We have a USURPER who is "PLAYING PRESIDENT" and not qualified nor even VALID as president or Commander in Cheif. . . I'm a U.S. Veteran and now I and all of my fellow Vets have been labeled "Right Wing Extremists" for maintaining the attitude about our CONSTITUTION which I swore an oath to Obey, Protect and Defend, . . Just as all the people who sit in positions of power in Washington, D.C. . . Yet, . . As soon as they take that oath, . . They IGNORE THE CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS AND THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED THEM INTO THOSE SEATS. . .
THIS " H A S " TO BE STOPPED, . ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, . . AND " S O O N " OR WE WILL HAVE NO AMERICA. . . NO CHOICE, . . NO LIBERTY. . . It's rolling over us like a black cloud out of hell. . .
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The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson
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The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson
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IT IS WAY PASSED THE TIME FOR MAKING HARD AND FIRM CHOICES WHILE WE STILL HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE AND THE MEANS BY WHICH TO BACK IT UP. . .
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john w
4:55PM 4:55PM May 3rd 2009
TO ALL PARENTS WHO OBJECT TO THIS SICKNESS,THERE IS A ANSWER.IF ALL PARENTS TOLD THERE CHILDREN TO SAY THAT EVERY CHILD IN SCHOOL HAD CONTRABAND HIDDEN IN THERE CLOTHES AND REFUSED TO BE SEARCHED,EVERYONE WOULD BE SUSPENDED,LEAVING ALL SCHOOL PERSONEL,WITHOUT A JOB.IF THE CHILDREN STICK TOGETHER,THEY COULD BE STRONGER THAN THE SUPREME COURT.IF BREYER IS ALLOWED TO MAKE A JOKE ABOUT A CHILD BEING STRIP SEARCHED,THE SCUMBAG DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE THERE.NEITHER DOES THE AHOL THAT GAVE HIM THE JOB.IF THEY RULE AGAINST THIS CHILD,THEY SHOULD ALL BE REPLACED
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win
1:11PM 1:11PM May 4th 2009
With freedom comes the responsibility of obeying the rules and laws of society. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit seems to have good reasoning in their decision on this case. The article attempts to attribute her failure to complete school to the strip search based on the fact that one followed the other, an example of very weak reasoning. Indeed, her failure at school, and perhaps even the situation that got her strip searched may have had more to do with why she left school.
The decision of the 9th circuit provides many more details of case as well.
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