BF2S Forums Girl Wins $33,000 Settlement from Her School (Naked Pics In Her Phone)

A teenage girl has successfully sued her school in what legal experts are calling a landmark case for civil liberties.

She sued her school in north eastern Pennsylvania after she was suspended when teachers confiscated her cell phone and discovered pictures she had taken of herself naked.

The teenager, who was referred to in court as NN because she is only 17, had her cellphone confiscated by a teacher before lessons began last January. Cell phones were not banned in school but it seems that the teacher was annoyed that the girl was making a call as class was getting underway

The school’s principal then took it upon himself to scroll through all the text messages and general content on the phone. When he discovered the pictures he handed the girl an automatic three day suspension.

The pictures had been taken by the teen herself the night before , had never been sent anywhere and she says were intended for one set of eyes only other than her own – those of her longtime boyfriend.

The lawsuit charged the school’s officials in Tunkhannock Area School District with violating N.N.’s First and Fourth Amendment rights by searching her possessions without her express permission. In a statement N.N. said: ‘I was absolutely horrified and humiliated to learn that school officials, men in the DA’s office and police had seen naked pictures of me.’

In reaching the settlement last week the school admitted to no wrongdoing but agreed to pay N.N. $33,000 to settle the issue out of court.

In discussing the conclusion of the case American Civil Liberties Union’s legal director Witold Walczak told the press ‘School administrators have no more right to look through personal photographs stored on a student’s cell phone then they have the right to rummage through her purse, read her diary and mail, or view her family photo album.’