<p>I think this is the money quote:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is essentially a “Get out of Fourth Amendment free” card. The entire dorm room is an area “under the student’s control,” and after catching the roommate smoking pot, they certainly had reason to suspect a violation of university controlled substance policy.</p>
<p>I think “control” will be the magic word. If your S’s drawer doesn’t lock and his roommate could have stored pot there or it wasn’t evident which stuff was roommate’s and which stuff was S’s, then the campus police will argue that the entire room was “under the student’s control.”</p>
<p>I shouldn’t be doing this but…</p>
<p>REMEMBER THAT THERE IS NO PARENT-CHILD PRIVILEGE. When your kid gets into trouble and tells you what he did, it’s at least possible that you will be put in a situation in which you are asked what your kid told you. You CAN be forced to testify against your child. So, when your kid is in BIG trouble, it may not be wise to ask him what happened.</p>
<p>In this case it’s probably not going to matter, but it’s just something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>Drinking age was 18 when I was in college, and our school even had a bar on campus. Having the drinking age set to 21yo is like what Prohibition was like. That didn’t work either. People didn’t stop drinking. Of course, the real reason why Prohibition was discontinued was because the states weren’t making any tax money.</p>
<p>Tom, you must like to stir up a fight here, don’t you?</p>
<p>jonri, this is about a fake id.</p>
<p>I’m with Polarscribe re: the search of OP’s S’s stuff. It was in the same physical room, and technically RM had access to all parts of the room (except for what S kept locked). I’m guilty of having used a fake id back in the dinosaur era, so I can’t judge. Just out of curiosity tho, coley, why did he have the ID if he’s 21? Probably left over from the pre-legal days, I guess. Good luck, but I agree that unless they say they are going to press charges or give your S a really difficult time, I probably wouldn’t initially be questioning the “legality” of them searching your S’s stuff. I’d be going the contrite route myself…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A school dorm room is not the same as a privately rented apartment. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Obviously I wasn’t there but there are plenty of ways to be able to search property without a warrant. If they simply said to your son “You don’t mind if we just have a look in these drawers do you?” and your son didn’t stop them then they essentially have consent… in some ways more consent than a warrant would give. As someone pointed out a warrant can restrict them to only look for certain things but if they’re given permission to just broadly look around and they find something illegal…</p>
<p>Anyone who’s every watched COPS on FOX knows this is essentially how about 50% of the scenes go down:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Guy pulled over for speeding</p></li>
<li><p>Cop “You don’t mind if I just have a look around your car do you?”</p></li>
<li><p>Criminal “Uhhh, ermmmm, ok” (correct response, even for those of us with nothing to hide, would be “Unless you have probable cause or a warrant to issue me then yes I do”)</p></li>
<li><p>Cop finds illegal item (weapon, drugs, fake ID, etc.) in glove compartment</p></li>
<li><p>Cop arrests criminal </p></li>
</ul>
<p>It sounds like some variation of the above is essentially what happened with your son. At this point how they found him in possession of a fake ID is almost moot since it sounds like he was there and didn’t attempt to deny consent for them to search his possessions.</p>
<p>A fake ID, while often seen by many as a minor thing, is technically a really big deal and depending on the mood of the authorities could be treated as such (in reality a first time offender would likely get a fine and slap on the wrist). </p>
<p>The school, however, essentially has unlimited power to do whatever they want regarding your son’s status so you need to proceed carefully and should obtain a lawyer.</p>
<p>I had a friend get in a lot of trouble for fake id years ago. Big legal fees yada yada (all better now - the kid grew up to be a college adminstrator). BUT he was caught trying to use the id at a bar. Not sure if just having it would be as serious.</p>
<p>Yes, I realize that, limabeans. I can read. So, what’s your point? </p>
<p>It’s extremely unlikely that the OP is going to be served with a subpoena that requires her to testify against her son. However, when our kids get into trouble, it’s risky to ask them what really happened. We CAN be asked what our kids told us and in some circumstances we can NOT refuse to answer the question. </p>
<p>If your spouse tells you “I stopped at a bar and had a drink before I got in the car,” you have a perfect right to refuse to answer a question about what your spouse told you. If your kid does the same thing, you have no legal right to refuse to answer. That was MY point. So, sometimes we ought not to ask our kids too many questions.</p>
<p>I would wait till you talk to the Dean to get a lawyer. Or better said, wait till you listen to what Dean says to get a lawyer.</p>
<p>Yes, listen is the operative word.</p>
<p>“ust out of curiosity tho, coley, why did he have the ID if he’s 21? Probably left over from the pre-legal days”</p>
<p>He’s not 21, he’s 18.</p>
<p>Just got off the phone with him…he’s very, very upset, not for himself but for his friend and RM. The poor kid is in the hospital, he fainted and just called DS and told him that he lost his scholarship and FA and can’t afford to continue at the University without it.</p>
<p>Good god just legalize it already!</p>
<p>"Yes, listen is the operative word. "</p>
<p>Good advice…thanks again everyone.</p>
<p>Wow Coleytown…so sorry for your son and his RM. Stuff like this is certainly something I think about as a parent.</p>
<p>Coley, of course I agree with you. But there is nothing you can do for RM. You have to pull yourself and get your kid to pull him self togethor. If he can not talk lucidly, he must say, I am so upset re RM, I can not talk. Do not let him babble.</p>
<p>Like kayf says, you can’t do anything for the RM at this point, but I do have a question. Did the school put the two roommates together? Just asking. I’m sure you can see where I am going with this. Good luck.</p>
<p>Often offenses like this go no further than the school (although not sure at all re the fake ID); if the local police were not brought in, there were no arrests etc, then this will be presumably be handled by the school through their internal disciplinary proceedings (and often, lawyers and parents are not allowed to even attend these). Whether they turn this over to local police depends on the school’s policies. </p>
<p>Given that the roommate was caught violating one school policy, it was arguably reasonable to suspect that the school authorities would find more drugs in his room and therefore, to search it. I don’t see much luck winning that one. </p>
<p>Check the student code of conduct and handbook to see what they say about sanctions for these kinds of violations, but bottom line when your S enrolled he agreed to whatever they say. And private schools can be much more strict and have a lot more leeway in their student conduct policies.</p>
<p>And, fwiw, I have a smart S who made a similar “dumb” mistake during his freshman yr - a fire alarm ended up going off in his dorm - while goofing around after drinking (pulling fire alarms is often a felony isn’t it?). His school takes fire safety violations VERY seriously (would this be a felony in many states - even though back in my day it would have most likely been dismissed as a harmless prank?); he ended up with a deferred suspension/kicked out of the dorms for the rest of the yr (this occurred at end of fall semester) and was put on disciplinary probation for a yr, plus mandatory alcohol/substance abuse course, community service…which was actually the best outcome he could have gotten. And perhaps a much needed learning experience. He graduates in a month, but there are no longer any black marks on his record.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and yr S!</p>
<p>Not too much sympathy here for the RM. The “poor kid” knew the rules. I sort of (not competely) agree with Tom… these kids know that drugs and drinking ARE against the rules on campus. If you get caught, you pay the consequences. I do hope the OP’s son is not kicked out for the id, that seems like a lesser offense to me. </p>
<p>Regaring the roommate, while some posters here believe pot should be legalized, it ISN’T legal now. By the way, if you think it does not have any long term health consequences, read up on the recent studies about links between pot smoking and schizophrenia. I lost a sibling to suicide who smoked a lot of dope, and experienced a midlife slide into schizophrenia. If you value your kids, give them a strong message that smoking pot is NOT a good choice. Sure, it is easier to be a relaxed parent who doesn’t sweat this stuff. But I guarantee that you wouldn’t want to go through what my parents did when they lost their son.</p>
<p>I thought posts were saying to lower the drinking age…not legalize pot. Am I reading it wrong?</p>
<p>Interesting tidbit:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[Dorm</a> Room Searches](<a href=“http://www.school-training.com/newsletter/articles/dorm-searches-response.shtml]Dorm”>http://www.school-training.com/newsletter/articles/dorm-searches-response.shtml)</p>
<p>Yes, I think they should legalize, for various reasons, but I don’t think, even in states with medical cards, that the kids are allowed to have pot on campus in their rooms. This is my understanding and is the case at D’s school which is in a medical card state. She lives on campus, but friends who want to use a medical card have to have an apartment.</p>
<p>But, I’m talking about the drinking age being silly. I can only speak for myself.</p>
<p>That said, the roommate already knows his consequences. Obviously, the OP’s son is in a different situation. And will face a different situation.</p>