The appellate court reviewed the decision and the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the decision, explaining that the fourth amendment also applies to seizures and searches conducted by school officials in schools . The constitutional issue that this court case is involved is the fourth amendment. This court case questions whether the exclusionary rule applies to searches conducted by school officials in public schools. The state of New Jersey appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court decided by a 6-3 margin to overturn the New Jersey Supreme Court decision. They based this decision on the fact that the school searches of her purse was “reasonable”. First, the student was caught in the bathroom and taken to the principal’s office. So in this case, it was reasonable to search TLO's purse for cigarettes. In addition, the drug related evidence was in plain view which is an exception to the warrant in the 4th amendment. Lastly, teachers do not need a warrant in schools because student should expect a reduced should have a reduced expectation of privacy when they are at