Fourth Amendment rights aren't always so clear.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated."
For Ohio University students, however, the Fourth Amendment isn't always so clear.
Residential Assistants cannot search a dorm room or search the room's contents without permission, but if students refuse to open the door, they could be referred to the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility. Students are required to open the door if they’re in the room, according to Pete Trentacoste, executive director of Housing and Residential life.
“That could be just barely opening it to a crack, kind of looking out and saying ‘yeah I’m here,’ ” Alex Davis, associate director of Students Defending Students, said. Students Defending Students is a part of OU's Student Senate dedicated to upholding students' rights and advising them through disciplinary processes, according to its website.
If a student doesn't open his or her residence hall door while inside the room, he or she could be referred to Community Standards for “failing to respond to a reasonable request by a university official,” Trentacoste said in an email.
Once inside, RAs cannot go into a student’s fridge, drawers or closet without permission, Trentacoste said.
“RAs are not allowed to search a room,” Trentacoste said in an email. “Housing and Residence Life staff are permitted to inspect a room during health and safety checks and incidents; however, they are only looking for items of concern that are in plain sight.”
The extent of that search can be questionable, Pat McGee, a managing attorney at the Center for Student Legal Services and recent Athens City Councilman-elect, said.
The environmental checks in the dorms can pose problems, McGee said, adding that the university posts a general notice that it will be entering the room without a specific date and time.
McGee said off-campus housing, such as renting an apartment or house, poses warrantless search issues, as well.
In compliance with the Fourth Amendment, it is always the tenant who gives consent for the search and not the landlord or owner of the property, he said.
“The issue may be complicated if the landlord has the right to enter having given a 24-hour notice for valid purposes and finds incriminating evidence,” McGee said.
But problems can arise if a roommate gives permission for the police to enter and search without the rest of the tenants knowing. McGee said common areas like living rooms are OK, but personal rooms bring up issues.
“(It’s) probably not OK for those areas which are under the exclusive control of the other roommate,” McGee said.
When students run into Fourth Amendment problems, Davis recommends students talk to the Center for Student Legal Services for guidance. Students Defending Students doesn’t deal with Fourth Amendment rights issues, Davis said.
“If (students) are trying to make a Fourth Amendment claim against the school, (the center) won’t be able to help them," Davis said. "They will have to get their own attorney.”
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