NC: “Bra lift” search at school without individized suspicion was unreasonable

A “bra lift” search at school without any individualized suspicion was unreasonable. The entire school was going through a shakedown for drugs. [The court also cites numerous cases disapproving of strip searches at school without individualized suspicion.] In re T.A.S., 713 S.E.2d 211 (N.C. App. 2011), Vacated by, Remanded by In re T.A.S., 366 N.C. 269, 732 S.E.2d 575 (2012):

Where the blanket search of the entire school lacked any individualized suspicion as to which students were responsible for the alleged infraction or any particularized reason to believe the contraband sought presented an imminent threat to school safety, the search of T.A.S.’s bra was constitutionally unreasonable and we reverse the trial court’s order denying her suppression motion.

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While certain aspects of the search here may have been reasonable based on the general suspicion that pills were coming into the school—possibly by concealment in some students’ undergarments—the search of T.A.S.’s bra, without individualized grounds for suspecting that she had the pills on her person, was excessively intrusive. Once the search extended to such intimate places, the generalized suspicion upon which the trial court relied was no longer sufficient to justify the heightened intrusion. Thus, in light of T.L.O. and Redding, the search was not reasonable under the circumstances.