A federal lawsuit has been filed against New Hampshire school officials and law enforcement after they searched a high school student’s car based on his legal ownership of a semi-automatic rifle. The student, Jack Harrington, is an 18-year-old senior at Hillsboro-Deering High School.
Background of the Case
According to court filings, school officials learned of a conversation Harrington had a week prior, in which he mentioned storing his handgun in the glove box of his truck while at a gas station away from school. This conversation was overheard by an assistant coach, who reported it to school officials. As a result, Harrington was questioned by school administrators and a school resource officer, and his vehicle was searched while parked on school grounds. No weapon was found in the vehicle, as Harrington had stored it at his home.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a motion for summary judgment in the case, arguing that the search was a violation of Harrington’s constitutional rights. The foundation asserts that legal gun ownership does not constitute reasonable suspicion or probable cause for a search by school authorities or law enforcement.
Response from the Second Amendment Foundation
SAF Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack stated, ‘Entirely lawful and constitutionally protected conduct cannot be the grounds for a search. School officials, especially when accompanied by law enforcement, need at minimum reasonable suspicion to search a student’s vehicle.’ Sack emphasized that the fact that Harrington was a gun owner did not provide sufficient grounds for the search.
SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb also commented on the case, saying, ‘District officials – and even a school resource officer who should know better – took it upon themselves to violate the constitutional rights of a peaceable, adult, firearm owner for no other reason than they learned of his status as a gun owner.’ Gottlieb argued that law enforcement and school officials must understand and follow the law, which they failed to do in this instance.
The motion filed by the plaintiffs notes that the defendants acknowledged Harrington was not considered a threat to school safety and had no prior disciplinary record. The plaintiffs argue that the search was unjustified and that the defendants relied on a ‘week-old, stale report of a single comment’ made by Harrington, which was not sufficient to establish reasonable suspicion for the search.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
