Burlison Ex Rel. CM v. Springfield Public Schools

I concur in Judge Murphy’s opinion for the court. It is unnecessary to decide whether school officials effected a seizure of C.M.’s belongings, because any such seizure was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. As Judge Loken has chosen to opine that C.M.’s belongings were not seized, however, it is worth noting that there is a substantial argument on the other side.

In United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109, 104 S.Ct. 1652, 80 L.Ed.2d 85 (1984), the Supreme Court said that “[a] ‘seizure’ of property occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual’s possessory interests…