Home > Great American Court Cases > O'Connor v. Ortega

Legal Citation: 480 U.S. 709 (1987)

Petitioner
Dennis M. O'Connor

Respondent
Mango J. Ortega

Petitioner's Claim
Hospital officials of Napa State Hospital had reasonable cause to enter and search an employee's private office. Officials were attempting to secure any state property in Mango J. Ortega's office while he was being investigated for mismanagement of his department and for sexual harassment charges. This search did not violate the employee's Fourth Amendment rights.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Jeffrey T. Miller

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Joel I. Klein

Justices for the Court
Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens