The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3 - 63
Author Note. Portions of this article previously appeared in Contemporary
Issues in Higher Education Law (Fossey & Eckes, 2015). The discussions on
Commonwealth v. Carr (Fossey, 2011), Commonwealth v. Copney (Fossey, 2015),
and Medlock v. Trustees of Indiana University (Fossey, 2014) are taken from
articles that previously appeared in Teachers College Record.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Richard Fossey,
Paul Burdin Endowed Professor of Education, University of Louisiana at Lafayette,
Educational Foundations and Leadership, Picard Center 259, 200 E. Devalcourt
St., Lafayette, LA 70506.
Students who
reside in college
dormitories do not
Do students who reside in college dormitories enjoy Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches in their dorm
rooms, protections that put constitutional constraints on university
officials and law enforcement officers who conduct dormitory-room
searches? The short answer is yes. Students who reside in college
dormitories do not have a diminished expectation of privacy; they
enjoy the same constitutional protections against unreasonable
searches as students who reside in private dwellings (Piazzola v.
Watkins, 1971, p. 289). As one court put it, university students are
adults, and dorm rooms are homes. "To suggest that a student who
lives off campus in a boarding house is protected but that one who
occupies a dormitory room waives his constitutional liberties is at
war with reason, logic, and law" (People v. Cohen, 1968, p. 713).
Nevertheless, case law reveals the constitutionality of a dormitory-room search may depend on the answer to a variety of questions. For example, if college officials search a dormitory room
independently of police, do their institution's regulations or the
language in a student-housing contract grant them this authority?
What was the motivation of the searchers? Did they enter a student's room in furtherance of their institution's legitimate interest in preserving health, safety, and an educational atmosphere,
or were they pursuing a criminal investigation? Were college officials acting independently of law enforcement authorities when
they conducted their search, or were they acting in concert with
them? Did the affected student consent to the search? If so, was the
consent voluntary or coerced?
have a diminished
expectation of
privacy; they
enjoy the same
constitutional
protections against
unreasonable
searches as
students who
reside in private
dwellings.
V o l u m e 4 4 , No. 3 * 2 0 1 8
63
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3
Contents
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3 - Intro
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