R.J.M., A JUVENILE, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A juvenile's adjudication for possession of a concealed weapon was reversed because the knife was discovered during an unlawful search lacking reasonable suspicion, making the weapon suppressible as fruit of the illegal search.
A school official's search of a student based solely on the student's friendship with another student who fainted violates the Fourth Amendment because it lacks reasonable suspicion, and any weapon discovered during such unlawful search must be suppressed.
[1] A school official's search of a student must be supported by reasonable suspicion of the student's wrongdoing, and a weapon produced during an unlawful search is suppress…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“I guess this is what you want”
R.J.M.'s statement while producing the knife during the unlawful search of his person
R.J.M., a high school student, was ordered to the office of assistant principal Harrell based solely on being a friend of a female student who had fai…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Possession Of A Concealed Weapon cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
The appellant’s adjudication of delinquency, entered on a nolo plea to possession of a concealed weapon, is reversed because the knife which was the subject of the charge should have been suppressed.
Based solely on the fact that R.J.M. was the friend of a female student who had, reportedly because of drugs, fainted at the public high school they both attended, an assistant principal, Harrell, ordered him to his office and began a complete search of his person. While it was taking place, R.J.M., saying “I guess this is what you want,” pulled the knife from his boot.
It is apparent both that Harrell did not have anything remotely resembling the reasonable suspicion of R.J.M.’s wrongdoing which is required to justify a search of a student by a school official; A.B. v. State, 440 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); State v. D.T.W, 425 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); and that R.J.M.’s production of the weapon, occurring as it did during the very course of the thus-unlawful search, must be deemed a product of and tainted by that search rather than a voluntary surrender or abandonment of the knife. Kraemer v. State, 60 So. 2d 615 (Fla.1952); State v. Lundy, 334 So. 2d 671 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Earnest v. State, 293 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974); State, v. Neri, 290 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974), cert. dismissed, 302 So. 2d 412 (Fla.1974).
Accordingly, the adjudication under review is reversed with directions to discharge the respondent.
Reversed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
C.A. v. State, 977 So. 2d 684 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)…y associated C.A. with her suspicion that the other student possessed marijuana. C.A. is correct that suspicion by association or transference is not “reasonable suspicion.” * See M.S. v. State, 808 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); R.J.M. v. State, 456 So. 2d 584 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). Conclusion C.A.’s points on appeal are well taken. The school officials’ instructions constituted a Forth Amendment search, and that search was not founded upon a “reasonable suspicion” directed at C.A. himself. Accordingly, it…
Authorities Cited
- Kraemer v. State, 60 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 1952)
- State v. D.T.W., 425 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
- State v. Lundy, 334 So. 2d 671 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976)
- Katharine T. Fulton v. The N. Tr. Co., 290 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974)
- Earnest v. State, 293 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)
- A.B. v. State, 440 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)
- Elkins v. State, 302 So. 2d 412 (Fla. 1974)
- Stanley v. State, 302 So. 2d 412 (Fla. 1974)