Seal v. Morgan

229 F.3d 567 (2000)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Seal v. Morgan

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
229 F.3d 567 (2000)

  • Written by Ann Wooster, JD

Facts

A public-high-school student, Dustin Seal (plaintiff) gave a ride in his car to a friend, who left a hunting knife in the car’s glove compartment without Seal’s knowledge. The next day at school, Seal was accused of drinking alcohol and gave the vice-principal permission to search the car. The vice-principal found the knife in the glove compartment. The high-school principal held a disciplinary hearing and suspended Seal pending expulsion for possession of the knife on school grounds in violation of a zero-tolerance policy. A hearing authority officer of the Knox County Board of Education (school board) (defendant) upheld the suspension pending expulsion despite testimony establishing that Seal did not know the knife was in his car. The school board held a hearing at which Seal was represented by counsel, who argued that Seal did not know the knife was in his car. The school board voted unanimously to uphold the recommendation to expel Seal. Seal filed suit in district court and argued that the school board’s decision was irrational in violation of substantive-due-process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The school board argued that it was required under the zero-tolerance policy to expel Seal regardless of whether he knew the knife was in his car while on school property. The school board filed a motion for summary judgment on this issue, which the district court denied. The school board appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Gilman, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership