New Jersey v. T.L.O.

T.L.O. (defendant), a 14-year-old freshman, was caught smoking in a school bathroom with a friend. When questioned by assistant vice principal Theodore Choplick, T.L.O. denied smoking, and Choplick searched her purse, finding cigarettes and then rolling papers, which prompted him to search further and uncover marijuana, a pipe, cash, a list of students, and letters suggesting she was dealing marijuana. The state (plaintiff) brought juvenile delinquency charges, and T.L.O. moved to suppress the evidence as the fruit of an unconstitutional search. The trial court upheld the search, an intermediate appellate court affirmed, but the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed, holding the search unreasonable because possessing cigarettes alone did not violate school rules. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.