Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

VA AG: School officials can search cellphone for evidence of ?sexting? or ?cyberbullying?

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The Virginia AG issues an opinion authorizing school officials to search student belongings and cellphones on reasonable suspicion of a violation of law or a school regulation for “sexting” or “cyberbullying.” VA A.G. Op. 10-150 (November 24, 2010)*: Accordingly, searches of a student’s belongings--including an examination of the messages found on a cell phone or laptop--are justified if, when the search is made, the teacher or principal has “reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school.” in addition, the subsequent search must be “reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the infraction...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 26, 2010 (boomark / email).