N.H. high court OKs room searches
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled Friday that Dartmouth Safety and Security Officers are not acting as agents of the state when they turn contraband found in students' rooms over to the police. The Court overruled a decision by the Lebanon District Court, which ruled that Dartmouth violated the 4th Amendment rights of Adam Nemser '01 by handing confiscated marijuana over to the Hanover Police Department. The drug seizure -- which occurred while current Thayer student Nemser was a Dartmouth undergraduate -- was part of longstanding College policy that will not be altered as a result of the Court's ruling, said Daniel Nelson, senior associate dean of the College. Nelson refused to comment on the specifics of the case, but he said that Safety and Security officers often happen by chance on illegal drugs when students lock themselves out of their rooms and ask to be let back in. Dartmouth turns the drugs over to the police but does not provide them with any other information, Nelson said. Hanover Police Chief Nick Giaccone explained that his officers must obtain a warrant in order to have access to information about the origin of the drugs. The Court took this as evidence that Safety and Security and the Hanover Police Department are two separate entities -- and that Dartmouth, as a private institution, is not violating constitutional prohibitions on unreasonable search and seizure, Giaccone said. "Safety and Security Officers are not agents of the state.