Washington v. Meneese
Annotate this CaseDefendant-Appellant Jamar Meneese appealed his conviction for unlawfully carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds and for possessing a controlled substance. He claimed the weapon, an air pistol, was seized in an unlawful search at school and should have been suppressed at trial. The question on appeal was whether the school search exception to the warrant requirement applied to the search conducted by the school resource officer (SRO). The parties disputed whether the SRO was acting as a school official or a law enforcement officer at the time of the search. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that the SRO is a fully commissioned, uniformed, law enforcement officer employed by the Bellevue Police Department. He arrested and handcuffed Defendant before searching his backpack. Moreover, after arresting Defendant, the focus of the investigation was no longer on informal school discipline (an underlying purpose behind the school search exception.) Accordingly, the Court concluded the school search exception did not apply, a warrant supported by probable cause was required, and the weapon should have been suppressed.
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