The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects every citizen's right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion into his or her body, house and property — whether in public, or at home, work or school.
Today, concern about drugs and violence sometimes trumps privacy rights. For example, federal courts have found that students' Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizure do no always apply in a public school setting. The ACLU believes that schools are not constitutional dead zones, and continues to fight for students' privacy rights, challenging unreasonable strip-searches and seizures of property such as cell phones.
Cases
Safford Unified School District v. Redding - U.S. Supreme Court Ruling (2009 resource)
Pearson v. Callahan (2008 case)
Other Resources
Your Right to Privacy (A Guide for Students) (2003 resource): Getting an education isn't just about books and grades — we're also learning how to participate fully in the life of this nation. But in order to really participate, we need to know our rights — otherwise we may lose them. The highest law in our land is the U.S. Constitution, which has some amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees that the government can never deprive people in the U.S. of certain fundamental rights including the right to freedom of religion and to free speech and the due process of law. Many federal and state laws give us additional rights, too.
Nadine Strossen's Congressional Testimony on Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform (1997 resource)
Most Popular
Massachusetts High Court Says Evidence Of Non-Criminal Marijuana Possession Does Not Authorize Police Searches (2011 press release)
ACLU-PA Reaches Agreement With City of Philadelphia In Stop-And-Frisk Challenge (2011 press release)
In New York, A Rogue Wave Of Criminal Injustice (2011 blog post): The New York City Police Department continues its racially biased "stop-and-frisk" practices where officers stop, question and even search innocent people for no reason at all. In 2010 alone, NYPD officers made over half a million of these suspicionless — and unconstitutional — stops, 85 percent of which targeted people of color.
Easy Money: Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuse by Police (2010 blog post)
ACLU Settles Student-Cell-Phone-Search Lawsuit With Northeast Pennsylvania School District (2010 press release)
Conference to Address Public Health and Safety Approaches to Drug Policy (2010 blog post)
U.S. Supreme Court Declares Strip Search Of 13-Year-Old Student Unconstitutional (2009 press release)
Seizure of Rush Limbaugh's Medical Records Violates Florida's Constitutional Right of Privacy, ACLU Tells Court (2004 press release)
ACLU Sues Pittsburgh Over Seizure and Destruction of Homeless People's Belongings (2003 press release)