NJ School Shooting Liability Case Tests Right to Metal Detector

A New Jersey school district’s liability for a shooting death at a football game hinges on a grieving mother convincing a state appeals court that a lack of metal detectors violated the state constitution.

In an hour-long argument Wednesday the judges expressed skepticism that the Pleasantville Board of Education’s decision to eschew detectors and instead hire additional security guards “shocked the conscience” to the point the district can be liable for a stray bullet that killed a child in 2019.

It’s that high burden—a key factor in a direct action against the government for “state-created dangers"—which plaintiffs must show to ...