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Student Gets $33K in Cell Phone Search Settlement

by Matthew Zuras on September 21, 2010 at 03:40 PM

holding cell phoneLast week, a 17-year-old Pennsylvania student received $33,000 in settlement money from the Tunkhannock Area School District, which the student (and her lawyers, from the American Civil Liberties Union) accused of illegally searching her cell phone. The lawsuit was initiated in May, after the student -- named in court documents only as "N.N." -- had her phone confiscated while using it in class back in January 2009, apparently in violation of the high school's policy. The principal then found several topless photos of the student stored on the phone, reported the discovery to law enforcement, and suspended N.N. for three days. The school district agreed to pay the settlement amount, but denied any wrongdoing.

The ACLU claims that the photos "required multiple steps to locate," and were only intended to be seen by N.N. and her longtime boyfriend. Unlike another recent lawsuit, which involved a student allegedly holding information about a gun and vandalism on her phone, N.N.'s case seems like a clear violation of privacy during a search without probable cause. We only hope that the $33,000 of school district money will go towards her college tuition.

Tags: aclu, cellphones, highschool, lawsuit, pennsylvania, school, settlement, students, TunkhannockAreaSchoolDistrict

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