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Title: Crime Stopper Tip Goes Up In Smoke
Author:
ID: LL120
Issue: SU2-1
Issue Date: 2005-01-01
Edition: School
Type: Article

Body: In Illinois v. Kline, 2005 Ill.App. LEXIS 161 (App. Ct. of Illinois 3rd Dist. 2005), an Illinois Appellate Court examined the seizure and search of Brandon Kline at Moline High School. On September 4, 2003, Officer Sottos of the Moline Police Department received an anonymous tip on a Crime Stoppers telephone line indicating that Brandon Kline, a student at Moline High School, was in possession of marijuana. The caller indicated that Brandon had a half-ounce of marijuana in his left front pants pocket and the caller said he had seen the marijuana just prior to the call.

Officer Sottos relayed the information to the Mr. Thomas, the dean of the high school. Mr. Thomas and the officer then went to Klineís classroom. Kline was ordered from the classroom and taken to the nearest office where he was confronted with the information provided in the tip. He responded by telling Dean Thomas: ìYou can search me.î A search revealed marijuana leading to criminal charges.

On appeal, Kline argued that his removal from the classroom amounted to a Fourth Amendment seizure, which would have to be justified by reasonable suspicion. He also argued that the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip did not amount to reasonable suspicion. In response, the prosecution argued that removal of a student from a classroom does not amount to a seizure, and even if it did, the Crime Stoppers tip did provide the necessary reasonable suspicion.

In its review of the case, the court noted that Kline was ordered from the classroom and taken immediately to the nearest office where he was questioned and searched. The court stated that it was clear that Kline had been seized within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment since he was not free to leave. The court then examined the anonymous tip to determine whether the tip provided the school official with reasonable suspicion to seize Kline. ìIn determining whether the substance of a tip, standing alone, may provide reasonable suspicion, courts will consider the detail of the tip, whether the tip established the informantís basis of knowledge, whether the informant indicated he or she witnessed any criminal activity, and whether the tip accurately predicts future activity of the suspect.î In concluding that the tip here did not amount to reasonable suspicion, the court noted that although the tipster indicated that he had observed the criminal activity, there was no other indicia of reliability in the tip. The court also noted that neither the officer nor the dean observed any bulge in Klineís pocket and they found him exactly where he was supposed to be, in class. The court concluded that Kline was not acting suspiciously. Accordingly, the court upheld the trial courtís ruling that the seizure was illegal because the school officials lacked reasonable suspicion when they confronted Kline.

It should be noted that there are a number of cases from other jurisdictions that indicate that a studentís removal from a classroom is not a seizure under the Fourth Amendment since school officials generally have authority to direct a studentís actions and locations while at school. See e.g., In re Randy G., 26 Cal.4th 556 (Cal. Supreme Court 2001). It should also be noted that in Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (2000), the United States Supreme Court suggested that officers may be able to react to an anonymous tip regarding a weapon when dealing with a school situation.



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