Attorney explains law connected to searching students; no charges after Suring School investigation - WGBA-TV
SURING, Wis. (NBC 26) — The Oconto County District Attorney chose not to file charges after a controversial search of students at Suring High School.
"My youngest, he said the other day walking into school he was shaking," concerned Suring parent of three Tina Winkler said.
The D.A. reported Suring's superintendent and a school nurse asked six female students to disrobe down to their undergarments while looking for vaping cartridges in mid-January.
"When I found out that the D.A. was not gonna issue charges, I honestly felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and stomped on a billion times," Winkler said. "Because who's gonna protect our children?"
D.A. Edward Burke cited Wisconsin law in a report stating what happened in Suring does not meet the definition of a strip search.
"Having children strip down to their bra and underwear is not okay in Wisconsin or any other state," Winkler said.
State law says a strip search means an examination in which a person is exposed below the waist, or a female person's breast is uncovered and either is exposed to view or is touched by a person conducting the search.
The district attorney says one of the students was asked to pull her bra band away from her body, but her breasts were not exposed to the superintendent or the nurse.
"What happened in Suring theoretically can happen in another school to different students," Green Bay-based school law practitioner Tony Steffek said.
Steffek, an attorney with Davis Kuelthau law firm, says school officials are not required to notify parents prior to a search.
"Some people would say 'well, I'm here in the office... you need to call me before you question my child,'" he said. "That right doesn't exist."
But Steffek says an imminent risk of danger should be present in a case of body searches.
"There are a lot of factors that go into the analysis of whether a search actually constitutes a strip search in the eyes of the law," he said.
This story will be updated with further details.
Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
source: https://www.nbc26.com/news/local-news/attorney-explains-law-in-regard-to-searching-students-no-charges-after-suring-school-investigation
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.