HEAD TAPING AND THE FOURTH AMENDMENT

From the facts in a recent 9th Circuit opinion authored by Chief Judge Schroeder:

The facts are not complicated. In February 1998, Plaintiff John Doe was a second-grader at Pukalani Elementary School. Doe’s teacher sent him to the defendant, Vice Principal David Keala, to be disciplined for fighting, but Doe then refused to stand still against a wall for his time-out punishment. Keala followed through on his threat to take Doe outside and tape him to a nearby tree if he did not stand still. The vice principal used masking tape to tape Doe’s head to the tree. The record is unclear as to whether Doe’s face was pressed against the bark. The tape remained for about five minutes until a fifth-grade girl told Keala that she did not think he should be doing that. He instructed the girl to remove the tape, which she did.

The case, Doe v. State of Hawaii Dept. of Education, was on appeal from the District Court of Hawaii. You can read the full opinion here (PDF file).

I don't know which is worse: that the vice principal taped the kid to the tree or that he needed another school kid to tell him that he was acting inappropriately.

And in case you're interested in the result (the case has to do with whether the vice principal is entitled to qualified immunity) here's part of the holding:

At the time that Keala taped him to the tree, Doe’s only offense had been “horsing around” and refusing to stand still. There is no indication that Doe was fighting or that he posed a danger to other students. Doe was eight years old. Taping his head to a tree for five minutes was so intrusive that a fifth grader observed it was inappropriate. There is sufficient evidence for a fact finder to conclude that Keala’s conduct was objectively unreasonable in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

From the WLO-9ca Case Summary Service. Sign up for yourself and be shocked at regular intervals.