FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2012
For More Information: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137
Mrs. Amina J. Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700
Atty. Al McSurely, Communications Chair, lawyers@mcsurely.com
Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Legal Redress Coordinator, 919-682-4700
Does a teen-age girl who has been placed in an alternative public school have the same rights as her counterpart enrolled in a traditional public school? That is the issue to be argued before the the North Carolina Supreme Court on Monday, February 13th.
In the matter of T.A.S. involves the search of a fifteen-year-old student's bra at an alternative school in Brunswick County, North Carolina. School authorities, based on an anonymous tip that "pills" were being brought to school by students, conducted the search.
"This is a case of profound constitutional importance," said Al McSurely, a member of the NC NAACP Legal Redress Committee. "Ms. Geeta Kapur, an adjunct UNC professor, is to be commended for her diligent representation of the young woman and for protecting all our constitutional rights."
"Although the young woman involved is white, the majority of students placed in 'alternative schools' in North Carolina are poor children of color," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, the President of the NC NAACP. "Do kids placed in alternative schools have less rights than other students?" Barber asked. "Here is a chance for the highest court in our state to breathe life into our Constitutions' prohibition of unreasonable searches."
The National ACLU, the National Juvenile Defender, and the Southern Poverty Law Center have filed friends of the court briefs in the case, all arguing the search was unconstitutional. Copies of briefs filed at the North Carolina Supreme Court can be found at: http://www.ncappellatecourts.org/.
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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
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