Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Alabama
Search of dormitory rooms
I live in a residence hall. In the handbook, it states that the ''administration reserves the right to enter and inspect the dormitory rooms at any time for the purpose of inspecting, protecting or maintaining property and for the purpose of promoting the safety and well-being of all concerned.'' I understand that they can come in and inspect my room at any time, but is there a limit to the scope of their inspection? Can they check anything that they want to incuding my private property (such as my refrigerator and microwave which are not furnished by the school) without cause? For example, when they check my closet, are they restricted to the things that are in ''plain sight'' or can they go through my personal items that are contained in the closet?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Search of dormitory rooms
Okay, just some quick foundational issues: is this a public or private school? A school can generally subject its own property to search but if I were the attorney representing the school, I would cut that off with things that are in plain sight. If this school is a private school, then you will be fighting an uphill battle to resist this invasion of your privacy. The restrictions of the Bill of Rights only apply to state actors, so it can be used to protect your rights if you are attending a state school but not a private institution. Some private actors will reserve the right to search anything that comes onto their property (i.e. an arena, club, etc.) Buying a ticket constitutes acceptance. However, it does not sound like from the language you quoted that your school has the right to search your own private property, such as chests, boxes, cases, refrigerators, etc. It's a close call, though.
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