State+of+West+Virginia+v.+Mark+Anthony

4th Amendment

January 22, 1992 a teacher at Marlinton Middle School found that she had $100 dollars missing from her purse. She notified the school’s social worker, which began to investigate the incident. The social worker, John Snyder, questioned one student who had a “history.” The social found no money on the students person. He than called down Mark Anthony after hearing he helped a janitor complete duties. Anthony confessed to being in the teacher’s room alone but he did to admit to have taken the missing money from the teacher’s purse. The social worker asked Anthony to pull out his pockets and roll down his socks just as he asked the first student. The social worker informed the principal that the money was nowhere on Anthony’s person, unless it was in his underwear. The principal than took the matter into his own hands and strip-searched Anthony in the men’s room. Th money was found in Anthony's underwear. The teacher, Galford initiated criminal proceedings against Anthony on February 6, 1992. He was sentenced to a one year in the West Virginia Department of Corrections. The sentenced was than changed to eighteen months of probation. Anthony than reargued that the strip search was intrusive and he should have no been convicted for the crime due to the actions taken in order to receive evidence of him actually stealing the money.

The majority opinion that was delivered by Justice Brotherton stated that the strip search given was excessively intrusive. It was claimed to be excessively intrusive due to the fact that the crime committed did not bring danger to anyone on the school campus. Therefore, if a student was strip searched due to probable cause, in which the student is known to bring danger upon others, than he or she can be strip searched. The dissenting opinion was not filed because of the rights being reserved.