Bucknell Settles Lawsuit over Residence Hall Search for $75,000
The lawsuit concerned the search of private dorm rooms on campus.
Bucknell admits no liability as part of the settlement.
Bucknell University in Pennsylvania recently settled a lawsuit with three former students over the search of a fraternity house in 2012.
The $75,000 lawsuit settlement ends years of legal action between the university and three former Kappa Sigma fraternity members. Montour and Union counties were also defendants because they were involved in the search, according to pennlive.com.
Although the terms of the settlement were not released by the court, Bucknell admits no liability in the case.
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The former students claimed Bucknell violated their rights by conducting a search of their private rooms on campus without a warrant. The search included members of Bucknell’s Public Safety Department and police from Montour and Union counties, who used drug sniffing dogs.
The university contended that the search was in accordance with rules in the student handbook. The school said the search occurred after a fire alarm was pulled and was fueled by the discovery of drug paraphernalia in a dormitory trash can.
As a result of the search, authorities found marijuana and marijuana residue, suspected LSD tablets, synthetic marijuana, a hunting knife, a pellet gun and drug paraphernalia.
The discoveries yielded no criminal charges but one student was fined $350 and required to do 20 hours of free labor by the university.
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