The Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute is ready to step into a potential civil liberties controversy at Western Albemarle High School. A breathalyzer test is at the heart of a debate over a countywide policy, or lack thereof.
In a six page letter addressed to Albemarle County Schools Superintendent Pam Moran, attorneys at the Rutherford Institute issued a warning to the school system: stop using breathalyzer tests on students.
John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute said, "The student was singled out, and now she's been humiliated. She's known as the student who has been breathalyzed."
Maggie Kooken is a sophomore at Western Albemarle High School. Her parents, Pete and Mary Beth Kooken, allege that on March 10 a school resource officer administered a breathalyzer test on their daughter following complaints from two other students that she was intoxicated in class. The results of the test showed that the Kooken had not been drinking.
The complaint takes issue with the school system using the preliminary breath test on a student to begin with, but it also says if they are going to use one, they at least need to get a parent's permission. In this case, that apparently did not happen.
Whitehead stated, "Parents are supposed to be involved. That's the big issue here."
Maury Brown, a spokesperson for Albemarle County Schools, would not speak with us on camera, but did issue a statement saying:
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Albemarle County Public Schools has a duty to provide for the safety of students in our care. Information related to a student possibly being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol must be taken seriously by school officials.
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We don't believe the Rutherford Institute's letter represents an accurate summary of the facts. We have reviewed the administrator's actions and believe that he acted responsibly based on credible information reported to him.
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We do not have a "breathalyzer testing policy" as the Rutherford Institute alleges. Policies related to student conduct were followed in this case and, as always, our administrators approach each incident on a case-by-case basis, making decisions using all available facts.
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In order to protect student privacy, we have no additional comment on this matter.
Attorneys argue that without parental consent the test violates a student's Fourth Amendment right to protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
Whitehead said, "What we're seeing in the schools is they are becoming very conforming, and much like, I hate to say it, police states. I mean when you have police in the schools doing breathalyzer tests, we've moved in that direction."
Attorneys want to make sure this incident does not end up on Kooken's record, they also want an apology.
It's important to note that, as of right now, this is just a complaint filed against the school system. There is no lawsuit pending. Attorneys say they hope this can be resolved before things get to that step.
Rutherford Institute Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.— John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, is warning school officials in the Albemarle County Public Schools against failing to respect the constitutional rights of its students and their parents, particularly in regards to their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by government agents.
In a letter to Superintendent Pam Moran, Whitehead called on school officials to cease their practice of subjecting students to police-administered breathalyzer tests without their parents' knowledge or consent and based on nothing more than an accusation of alcohol use by another student, regardless of the credibility of the accusation.
Whitehead weighed in on the issue after being contacted by a parent whose daughter was given a police-administered breathalyzer test despite the fact that school officials allegedly lacked any independent evidence or suspicion of alcohol use on her part. The test results indicated no alcohol in her system.
The Rutherford Institute's letter is available at www.rutherford.org.
"As surveillance cameras, metal detectors, police patrols, zero tolerance policies, lock downs, drug sniffing dogs and strip searches become the norm in elementary, middle and high schools across the nation, we are witnessing a new paradigm in America where young people are increasingly viewed as suspects and treated as criminals by school officials and law enforcement alike," said Whitehead. "It is my hope that the Albemarle County Public Schools, situated as they are near the birthplace of the man who envisioned America as an ‘empire of liberty,' would lead the way by raising up students who not only possess a sound academic understanding of their constitutional rights but who have also experienced first-hand what it means to have their rights respected."
According to her parents, Maggie Kooken, a sophomore at Western Albemarle High School, was subjected to a police-administered breathalyzer test on March 10, 2011, based on an unsubstantiated accusation by two fellow students that she had used alcohol. Maggie's accusers, who remain unidentified, told a teacher that Maggie had been drinking lemonade mixed with alcohol at school. The teacher allegedly reported the accusation to Associate Principal Greg Domecq without making any apparent efforts to corroborate it. Dr. Domecq observed Maggie during lunch but saw no indications that she was drinking alcohol. In fact, Dr. Domecq later told Peter Kooken that Maggie's behavior at lunchtime was not unusual and that she "seemed fine."
Despite the lack of any independent evidence or suspicion of alcohol use by a school official, Dr. Domecq allegedly took Maggie out of her next class and escorted her to his office, where a policeman—a county law enforcement officer—was waiting to administer a breathalyzer test. The test proved the accusations to be false: Maggie had no alcohol in her system.
In demanding that Albemarle County Public Schools immediately cease their practice of breathalyzing students, Whitehead has asked that school officials not only act to remedy the wrongs perpetrated against Maggie Kooken but also recognize the greater need for reform within the school district's policies as they relate to basic civil liberties, including—in this instance—bedrock principles of due process of law and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated.
