Drug search of Grand Forks student OK, court says

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's Supreme Court says a drug search of a Grand Forks high school student was legal.

The court denied an appeal by Christian Antonio Alaniz (ah-LAH'-nez) Jr.

Alaniz was an 18-year-old senior at Grand Forks Central when he was arrested in February 2011.

A school police officer told the school's principal he suspected Alaniz had been involved in drug activity during an off-campus lunch break.

The principal told the boy to empty his pockets. Alaniz had a glass pipe and some synthetic marijuana.

Alaniz argued to the Supreme Court there wasn't any probable cause for a police search.

But there is a less stringent legal standard to justify searches by school officials. The Supreme Court ruled the lesser standard applied in Alaniz's case.

Tags: k-12 education, north dakota, updates, crime, grand, forks