Administrative Searches

This lesson explores the countless "administrative" searches governed by the Fourth Amendment that occur every day without warrants or probable cause, in public schools, jails and prisons, factories and offices, and at vehicle checkpoints and border crossings. It examines the US Supreme Court's "balancing methodology" applied to these non-traditional "special needs" searches in the context of drug testing, searches in prisons and jails, vehicle inspections and checkpoints, and border searches. The lesson has separate units for each of these subjects and concludes with an essay question.