A case synopsis is written to capture the fundamental nature of decisions made by courts in the past. The synopsis summarises the decisions made by the court by giving the facts in a particular case, legal issues and the grounds for the decision. These kinds of cases are as a reference in future cases or similar situations. This paper will look at the synopses of different cases.
The first case was between Veronica School District V. Wayne Action. In this case a seventh grader who played football for his school was not allowed to sign a drug testing waiver by his parents. They felt that doing so would lead to the violation of the fourth and fourteenth Amendment rights. The parents argued that for the school to search or seize urine from their son they would need to have a warrant. The warrant would only be issued if there was a probable cause and in this scenario the parents felt there was no probable cause. The school had taken this measure due to an increase in drug use and felt they had to protect the students in athletics (Veronica School, 1995)
The parents had to sign a consent form to allow their children to be tested at random and those who would not be tested would not play. However Wayne’s parents refused to sign and consequently he was denied a chance to participate in the seventh grade football league. This led the parents to bring the matter to the US Supreme Court.
The case was dismissed by the Supreme Court as it was felt that the parents were refusing to follow the schools regulations to protect the young athletes (Veronica School, 1995). Should a student be exempted from following school regulations and still enjoy all the privileges? The holding showed that every child and parent should respect and obey the schools regulations especially when they are at the best interest of the child. This however did not mean that a child does not have constitutional rights rather the child has to be protected just like the constitution advocates for the protection of all its citizens.
The second study case involved Joseph Fredrick V. Morse. Fredrick was a student at Alaska High School who held a banner in front of the school gate so that all could view it. On the other hand Morse was the school principal who told him to bring down his banner that read ” Bong hits for Jesus” but he declined (Mears, 2007). Therefore he was given a ten day suspension from school because he was promoting the use of drugs as the wording on his banner suggested. As a result he filed a law suit to protest against the violation of his rights in the first Amendment.
Did the student have a right to pass on any kind of message just because the constitution gave the right of speech and right of expression? The court ruled no because Morse had the right to suspend Fredrick for promoting the use of illegal drugs near the school environment as he lifted his banner in front of the school where the students could see it as they went out to watch an Olympic torch relay (Mears, 2007).
Third case involved Safford Unified School District V Redding. Savanna Redding was a student at the Safford Unified School. She had been accused of supplying prescription drugs to students. Her fellow student who had been caught with the drugs alleged she was the source. Therefore she was subjected to a body search and ordered to remove her clothing. However, no drugs were found and her even after exposing her.
Redding’s mother took the school to court for carrying out unwarranted search on her daughter. She claimed Redding’s right to the fourth amendment had been desecrated. Had the school done the right thing in subjecting her to the search to find drugs that could cause harm to the students as well as the discipline? She had been subjected to a search without a warrant as well as a probable cause (US Constitution, 2009).
The other case involved Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School. There were three students involved, that is Mary Beth, Tinker John Tinker and Christopher Tinker. They went to school wearing black wristbands to protest hostilities directed to Vietnamese during the war. In the light of this the school adopted a policy regarding the wearing of armbands in school. No student would be allowed to wear one while in school and if they violated this policy they would be suspended until they gave up the armbands; these students went to school with the hand bands and therefore they were suspended. This led their parents to file a suit against the Moines administration for violating their fourth Amendments rights (Tinker V Des Moines, 2009).
Was Moines right in forgiving the suspension? Yes, the District court dismissed the case on the grounds that the policy schools decision had to taken to avoid any discipline disturbances. Later a petition was filed and the school was found to have violated the students first Amendment which found that their right to freedom of expression and speech hand been violated.
The other case was between Goss V. Lopez. It involved a student named Dwight Lopez who had been suspended for ten days for the accusation of involvement in a lunch room disturbance. He was not given a chance to defend himself or explain what had happened and was suspended for no practical reason as there lacked adequate prove that he had caused the disturbance.
The last case was of Brown V. Board of Education. This case had been filed in 1954 by African American parents who could not tolerate discrimination upon admission in some schools. Their children had to travel to far schools because those that were near admitted only Caucasian students due to racial segregation. The black schools also did not have adequate facilities thus the students were disadvantaged when it came to advanced education. The court ruled against racial segregation because it violated the fourteenth Amendment of the US constitution which states that all citizens are equal and offers them equal protection (Brown V. Board, n.d).
The above cases were all landmarks in their own right. They have led to changes in the way that students are handled in schools. This is by giving them the right to be treated as citizens of this country who have are protected by the constitution and thus should not be discriminated because they young and may not know their rights like in the case of Redding who was searched and exposed yet no pills were found on her. On the other hand the case briefs help in other similar cases as they are often referred to in making decisions. Furthermore the case briefs are organized and they are easy to refer to thus enable proper analysing of the law; they also help to save on time that would have been in reading cases therefore help the attorneys in their work.
Reference list
Brown V, Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954) (USSC+).
Mears, B. (2007). ‘Bong hits 4 Jesus’ case limits student rights.
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. (2009). Web.
U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment (2009).
Veronica School District vs. Acton (1995). Web.