W. J. S. v. State, AD-360
| Citation | 409 So.2d 1209 |
| Decision Date | 18 February 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. AD-360,AD-360 |
| Parties | 2 Ed. Law Rep. 1232 W. J. S., a child, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Michael E. Allen, Public Defender, and Davis J. Busch, Asst. Public Defender, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and David P. Gauldin, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Appellant pled nolo contendere to possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana after his motion to suppress the contraband was denied. The state stipulated that the motion was dispositive of the outcome, and the defendant's right to appeal was preserved.
According to stipulated facts, W. J. S. was standing in a school corridor talking to three other students when a teacher walked by who thought that the boys looked suspicious because they "appeared to look away from her, to look at something else." The teacher stopped the school security guard Lee who was also in the vicinity, and they took the boys to the principal's office "where Lee intended to have the Assistant Principal ... search each boy." Later, a small purse containing marijuana was taken from the defendant.
In his motion to suppress and in this appeal, defendant argues only that his initial detainment was illegal because there was no reasonable suspicion to believe that he possessed contraband.
We agree that there was no reasonable suspicion at the time of the initial detention in this case, within the meaning of that term as previously applied to school searches. See State v. F. W. E., 360 So.2d 148 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). However, we do not agree that school officials must have a reasonable suspicion in order to detain a student and take him, as stated in this case, "to be checked out" on the school premises. The stipulated intent to search does not in our opinion render the detention unlawful, and the validity of any subsequent search must be determined on the basis of conditions then existing. No other facts appear of record with respect to the circumstances under which appellant's purse was "taken from him," although counsel stated in argument before the trial court that the purse was first seen when appellant dropped it and after he ran, then returned, the principal "asked him to hand it over, which he did."
The defendant has not argued that the seizure of the marijuana was the result of a search. In fact, defense counsel waived any such argument by repeatedly stating that the motion...
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In re Randy G.
...are responsible." (Id. at p. 577, fn. omitted.) The Florida District Court of Appeal reached the same conclusion in W.J.S. v. State (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1982) 409 So.2d 1209. There, a teacher had a security guard bring four students to the principal's office; the students looked suspicious beca......
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In re DEM
...suspicion standard is inapplicable to the detention and questioning of a student by school officials.19See W.J.S. v. Florida, 409 So.2d 1209 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1982) (holding criminal law standards for "investigative stop" are inapplicable to the mere detention and questioning of a student by......
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M.D. v. State
...the official is not acting arbitrarily or capriciously. See J.D. v. State, 920 So.2d 117, 118 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); W.J.S. v. State, 409 So.2d 1209, 1210 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). ...
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State v. D.T.W.
...(Fla. 1st DCA 1978). Other decisions of this court have alluded to applicability of the reasonable suspicion standard. W.J.S. v. State, 409 So.2d 1209 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); M.J. v. State, 399 So.2d 996 (Fla. 1st DCA So that there is no doubt as to this issue, we affirm the trial court's dete......