The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3 - 74

Richard Fossey

Dormitory Searches by Private Colleges
and Universities
of course, private colleges and universities
are not governmental entities, and they do not
operate under fourth amendment constraints
unless they conduct searches in concert with the
police or at the behest of law enforcement authorities. State v. Burroughs (1996), decided by
the tennessee supreme Court, illustrates this
principle. in this case, police arrested Derron
Burroughs, a student at Knoxville College, a
private educational institution, after a search of
his dormitory room turned up cocaine.
Burroughs occupied the room pursuant to a
policy in the student handbook that authorized
campus personnel to conduct "unannounced,
unscheduled" entries into dormitory rooms
for the purpose of maintaining "law and order"
(pp. 244-245). in addition, Burroughs's housing
contract allowed college authorities to enter dormitory rooms unannounced. acting on information that Burroughs's room might contain
drugs, Chester petty, the director of housing
and director of Burroughs's dormitory, searched
Burroughs's room and found a white, powdery
substance that turned out to be cocaine. petty
reported what he found to a senior college administrator, who called the Knoxville police
Department. after his arrest for criminal possession of illegal drugs, Burroughs sought a
court order excluding the evidence seized by
petty when he searched Burroughs's room. Burroughs argued petty had acted as an agent of
the police when he conducted the search; thus,
the search, which petty conducted without a
warrant, violated the fourth amendment.
the tennessee supreme Court upheld the
search. the court acknowledged private actors
may subject themselves to fourth amendment
74

constraints when they operate as agents of the
police, but petty had not searched Burroughs's
room at the request of law enforcement authorities. petty was authorized under Burroughs's
housing contract to enter Burroughs's room
unannounced, and he searched Burroughs's
room before the college contacted the police.

Although it is well established
that students have a reasonable
expectation of privacy within their
dormitory rooms that protects
them from warrantless searches
by the police, students can waive
their Fourth Amendment rights by
voluntarily consenting to a police
search. Such consent must be clear
and unambiguous, however; it may
not be simply implied.

"thus," said the tennessee supreme Court,
"petty conducted the warrantless search not as
an agent of the state, but as a college official
whose purpose and actions were in furtherance of college policy, not state policy" (p. 246).
Duarte v. Commonwealth (1991), a Virginia
case, involved facts somewhat similar to the
Burroughs decision. William Duarte, a student
at averett College, a private entity, was convicted of marijuana possession after college offi-

T h e J o u r n a l o f C o l l e g e a n d U n i v e r s i t y St u d e n t H o u s i n g



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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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3 - Cover3
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