A Minnesota school district violated the First and Fourth Amendment by forcing a student to give up the student\u2019s Facebook password so the school officials could search the Facebook account for messages they didn\u2019t like. The right was clearly established, and there is no qualified immunity. R.S. v. Minnewaska Area Sch. Dist. No. 2149, MINNESOTA, 894 F. Supp. 2d 1128 (D. Minn. 2012):<\/p>\n
Such cases demonstrate that the existence of the narrow exceptions recognized in D.J.M. does not render unclear the established general rule against school regulation of merely inappropriate or offensive out-of-school speech.<\/p>\n
The standard for showing a clearly established right is certainly stringent, but that standard has been met here thus far. Several high-profile Supreme Court cases have distinguished between regulation of in-school speech and out-of-school speech. Recent cases approving of school regulation of particularly violent and threatening out-of-school speech have little applicability here and do not cast doubt on the general rule which, assuming the veracity of the facts alleged in the complaint, controls here. The facts alleged in Plaintiffs’ complaint place R.S.’s speech in the heartland of protected nonviolent and nondisruptive out-of-school speech. The Court concludes that a reasonable official would understand that punishing such speech would transgress R.S.’s right to free speech. As R.S.’s right to speak as alleged without school interference was clearly established, the Court will deny the school defendants’ motion for qualified immunity at this early stage.<\/p>\n
. . .<\/p>\n
Based on Plaintiffs’ complaint, at least some of the information and messages accessed by the school officials were in R.S.’s exclusive possession, protected by her Facebook password. R.S. controlled those items until she involuntarily relinquished her password. As with a private letter, the content of R.S.’s electronic correspondence was available only to her and her correspondent. The Court concludes, based on established Fourth Amendment precedent, that R.S. had a reasonable expectation of privacy to her private Facebook information and messages.<\/p>\n
ii. Nature of the Search<\/p>\n
The facts in the complaint allege that the school officials conducted an exhaustive search of R.S.’s Facebook account, and possibly her personal email account. There is no indication at this stage that they tailored their search in any way. It would have been difficult for them to tailor their search in pursuit of a legitimate government interest because, as discussed below, such an interest appears to have been lacking.<\/p>\n
iii. Government Interest in the Search<\/p>\n
The school defendants assert that since the reasonable search analysis requires a complicated and fact-intensive balancing of interests, the Court cannot conclude that their alleged behavior violated R.S.’s clearly established rights. Plaintiffs respond that the search was clearly unreasonable because one of the interests to be balanced\u2014a legitimate school interest motivating the search\u2014is completely absent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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