Debates over the scope of unreasonable searches and seizures sparked the American Revolution as we'll learn in a moment. 1. Write out what happened.In this session, students will examine the historical context and the drafting of the Fourth Amendment. In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Fourth Amendment applies to students in the public schools (New Jersey v. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from conducting unreasonable searches and seizures. But in the face of Prohibition, courts began to narrowly read the Fourth Amendment to give federal agents broader authority to search for illegal alcohol. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. It requires a warrant, based on probable cause, for searches. In the first case, the state courts allowed the search under the usual search-incident-to-arrest exception to the. B.L. analyzed a school's ability to regulate student speech in the context of the First Amendment.