Congress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Congress - Essay Example The CES was claimed to have unilaterally enacted a series of rules and regulations that required all students to undergo a search of their clothes, backpacks, lockers, and desks each morning. The rules also permitted random searches to take place. A hidden provision in the regulation allowed for enforcement officials to target their investigations more towards female students than male students, since studies had shown that females talk on cellular phones more often than males. Penalties for violating CES rules and regulations include the following: for a first offense, no hearing is held and the student receives a written warning; for a second offense, a hearing conducted by school officials is held and an automatic suspension is handed down; for a third offense, a full hearing is held by a board for the CES, after which a guilty finding results in expulsion, arrest, and incarceration for 30 days. School officials are also permitted, under the regulations, to permanently keep any cellular phones they confiscate. It is alleged that there were no notice was given or hearings held prior to the enactment of the rules and regulations. Lastly, there was an incident where a student was immediately expelled from school, arrested, and incarcerated without the opportunity to appear and defend herself against the charges, and that the cellular phone was taken by the authorities, never returned to such student nor her parents. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that there shall be no violation of the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, and that no warrants shall issue, except upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized (U.S. Const. amend. IV.). The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution further