8th Amendment Case

Topic: In the 1970’s, many schools operating in Dade County used corporal punishment as a form of punishment for misbehavior. A male student attending a Dade County Junior High School was forcibly restrained and paddled after failing to allegedly adhere to school policies. The student claimed that the paddling of students as a means of maintaining school discipline constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Eighth Amendment;

Issues: (1) Was it unconstitutional for the school to administer corporal punishment under the Eighth Amendment? (2) Did the school’s principal and vice principal violate the student’s Eighth Amendment by restraining him during punishment? (3) Under the Fourteenth Amendment, was the principal required

Finding of the Appellate Court: The Supreme Court Upheld the District Court’s decision finding corporal punishment constitutional.

Reasoning: 1. Yes. The school administering corporal punishment was constitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Although the student did receive injuries from the paddling, at the time under the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, punishments administered by schools such as corporal punishment was not considered cruel and unusual punishment. 2. No. The school’s administrators did not violate the student’s Eighth Amendment rights by restraining him during his paddling. 3. No. The administrators were not required to give the student prior notice and an opportunity to be heard before administering corporal punishment. The appellant claimed that the principal’s refusal to hear his side of the events was loss of due process, therefore, violating his Fourteenth Amendment rights. It was the findings of the Supreme Court that corporal punishment of children in schools is not protected under the Fourteenth Amendment, and does not require notice or a