The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) requested summary judgement Thursday in a case where a principal and cop searched a student’s truck after learning he owned firearms.
SAF initially sued over the search in October 2025 on behalf of Hillsboro-Deering High School student Jack Harrington over an April 2025 incident. In the complaint, SAF argued that the search violated Harrington’s Fourth Amendment rights.
“On April 24, 2025, Defendants—based solely on Jack’s status as a lawful firearms owner—removed him from class at HDHS in front of his classmates during regular instruction,” the initial complaint says. “At Crawford’s instruction, Defendants then subjected Jack to a coercive interrogation without his parents or an attorney present (the “Interrogation”), in which they demanded permission to search his truck (the “Subject Vehicle”), which was then parked in the HDHS campus parking lot, for firearms.”
“Neither Jack, nor his parents Thomas and Betsi … as the Subject Vehicle’s owners, consented to a search of the Vehicle,” the complaint continued. “Nonetheless, after the Interrogation in which Jack repeatedly refused to consent to a search and after Jack’s parents were contacted by phone and similarly refused to consent to a search, Defendants searched the Subject Vehicle anyway, finding no firearm (the ‘Illegal Search’). At the time of the Illegal Search, Jack’s legally owned firearm was safely stored at the Harringtons’ home, nowhere near the school campus.”
Second Amendment Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the reason for the search stemmed from a story that eventually filtered to the principal, and that they lacked even “reasonable suspicion” for the search.
“Typically, reasonable suspicion in the general law enforcement sense is what is required for a law enforcement officer to detain you, so they have to have some particularized facts that some criminal activity could be afoot,” Sack added. “So, that’s what’s required for them to just like say if they want to stop and talk to you for a minute and you’re not free to go, so that’s what’s called being detained. That’s what they need.”
“For example, they get a report that somebody at the 7-Eleven around the corner that was six foot tall and wearing a red jacket just robbed the place and they find you a block away and you’re six foot tall and wearing a red jacket,” Sack added. “Those are particularized facts that are sufficient for them to just stop you and talk to you ‘Hey, what are you up to? You know, like, do you have, did you just rob anybody? Where have you been for the last 10 minutes?’ You know, they can stop and just ask you questions.”
SAF filed for summary judgement Wednesday before United States District Judge Joseph N. Laplante of the District of New Hampshire.
“The undisputed facts confirm that Jack repeatedly refused to consent to the Search,” SAF argued. “To the extent that Defendants’ may attempt to contort statements he made after repeated refusals—while outnumbered in a closed room surrounded by adult school officials and law enforcement—into consent, well established caselaw concludes that such ‘consent’ was not voluntary.”
The Hillsboro-Deering School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
(DCNF)
