BELLEVUE, Wash. — Aug. 6, 2026 — The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a reply brief in a case challenging the unconstitutional search of an 18-year-old high school senior’s vehicle that was based solely on the knowledge that he is a legal gun owner.
In October last year, SAF filed Harrington v. Crawford after Hillsboro-Deering High School student Jack Harrington’s vehicle was illegally searched while parked on school grounds. Harrington lawfully owns a handgun and sometimes kept his firearm in his truck – in full compliance with all federal and state laws – but always removed the gun from his vehicle before going to school. When school authorities became aware of Harrington’s gun ownership, he was subjected to aggressive interrogation by district employees which culminated in his vehicle being searched without consent.
“The school’s knowledge that Jack was a lawful gun owner outside of school did not justify their search of his truck,” said SAF Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “They had no information to indicate he had ever brought the gun to school or had done anything illegal or against school policy whatsoever. The search they conducted could not have been supported by probable cause or even reasonable suspicion. Administrators ignored repeated insistent refusals by Jack to provide consent and now rest their hat on the fact that after telling him the search was going to happen regardless, he replied ‘okay.’ That is not consent in the eyes of the law. Jack’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated here.”
As noted in the brief, “The burden lies with Defendants to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that valid, voluntary consent to the Search was given. Consent ‘coerced by threats or force, or granted only in submission to a claim of lawful authority’ is invalid. Moreover, the evidence of voluntary consent must be ‘unequivocal, specific, and intelligently given, uncontaminated by any duress or coercion.’ Consent obtained by coercion is invalid ‘no matter how subtly the coercion was applied.’”
“School district officials took it upon themselves to infringe on a lawful gun owner’s rights based on the baseless ‘possibility’ that he had committed a crime, which is not sufficient to justify a search,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Being perceived as a lawful gun owner does not place you in a class of second-class citizens who are subject to search at any time. These school officials overstepped their authority here and we’re happy to help Mr. Harrington remind them of their duties under the Constitution.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
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