Supress or Suspend: New York's Exclusionary Rule in School Disciplinary Proceedings
![handle is hein.journals/nylr72 and id is 1510 raw text is: SUPPRESS OR SUSPEND:
NEW YORK'S EXCLUSIONARY RULE IN
SCHOOL DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
MAI LINH SPENCER*
INTRODUCrION
A high school student brings a handgun to school, concealed in his jacket pocket.
He does not pass through a metal detector, and the gun is invisible from the outside.
A school security guard sees the young man in the hallway, and on an impulse
grabs him as he passes. The guard pats the student down and finds the gun. The
guard disarms the student and calls for help; the police arrive and arrest the
student. 1
Weapons2 and violence3 in public schools have become a national
problem. One New York City study found that during the 1992-1993
school year thirty percent of high school students brought a weapon to
school.4 In 1995-1996, 171 New York City schools were rated un-
safe by the United Federation of Teachers.5 In response to such sta-
tistics, school districts are hiring security guards, installing metal
detectors, and implementing other security measures.6 These meas-
* I would like to thank Nguyen Lm-Thuyen, Allison Liu Jemow, and Professor
Randy Hertz for all their help.
1 This scenario is based on the facts of Juan C. v. Cortines, 647 N.Y.S.2d 491, 492
(App. Div. 1996), rev'd on other grounds, 679 N.E.2d 1061 (N.Y. 1997).
2 See, e.g., The University of the State of New York et al., A Study of Safety and
Security in the Public Schools of New York State 19 (1994) [hereinafter SUNY Study]
(reporting that 21% of New York State students brought weapons to school during 1992-
1993 school year, 15% of whom brought guns); Centers for Disease Control, 42 Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Rep. 773, 773 (1993) [hereinafter Morbidity Report] (reporting
that, during 1991-1992 school year, 21% of New York City students in grades 9-12 carried
weapon to school at least once during month preceding survey and 7% carried handguns).
3 See SUNY Study, supra note 2, at x (citing 36,107 violent incidents in New York
State schools during 1992-1993); Morbidity Report, supra note 2, at 773 (reporting that
homicide is leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds in New York City). But see
R. Craig Wood & Mark D. Chestnutt, Violence in U.S. Schools: The Problems and Some
Responses, 97 Educ. L. Rep. 619, 620-22 (1995) (asserting that increase in school crime
statistics may not reflect actual increase and describing flaws in studies reporting increase),
4 See SUNY Study, supra note 2, at 18 (reporting that 30% of New York City students
brought weapons to school during 1992-1993).
5 See United Federation of Teachers, Report of the School Safety Department for the
1995-1996 School Year 1 (1996) (summarizing violence statistics).
6 See SUNY Study, supra note 2, at xi (reporting that school districts are increasing
security staff, installing metal detectors, and implementing violence reduction programs in
response to violence in schools); Morbidity Report, supra note 2, at 775 (stating that one-
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Supress or Suspend: New York's Exclusionary Rule in School Disciplinary Proceedings
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