Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2000

Abstract

In State v. Tywayne H. the New Mexico Court of Appeals held that the lowered standard of reasonable suspicion that the United States Supreme Court applied to school officials in New Jersey v. T.L.O. would not apply to police officers invited onto a public school campus if the police officers conducted the search solely at their own discretion. Thus, the court held that a police officer will be held to the standard of probable causefor searches on public school campuses. Prior to Tywayne H., New Mexico courts had not addressed the standard to which police would be held when searching students on public school campuses. However, New Mexico courts had already established a lowered standard for searches by public school officials and applied the United States Supreme Court ruling that required school officials to have a reasonable suspicion rather than a probable cause in order to search students. This note explores how the New Mexico Court of Appeals decided what standard of proof police must meet when conducting searches on public school grounds, and discusses the implications the Tywayne H. decision will have on such future searches. Part II sets out the facts in Tywayne H. Part Ill addresses federal and state cases on which the Tywayne H. court relied in making its decision. Part IV explains the Tywayne H. court's reasoning, which is analyzed in part V. Finally, part VI discusses the implications of the Tywayne H. ruling for New Mexico.

Disciplines

Constitutional Law | Fourth Amendment | Law | Law Enforcement and Corrections

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