A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
The court of appeals issued a batch of opinions yesterday. Among them is State v. Washburn, a drug dog case. An extremely compressed summary of Washburn is that an informant told the police that the defendant was a drug dealer and kept drugs at his house and at a storage unit. Based on the tip, … Read more
You may have noticed that the blog — along with the rest of the School of Government’s website — was down most of the day Friday. I was unable to access it, just like you, so I couldn’t post anything. It seems that the technological glitch has been resolved, so I plan to be back … Read more
As I mentioned last week, I have a new publication entitled Prosecution and Law Enforcement Access to Information about Electronic Communications. It’s meant to be useful on a range of topics, from phone records and wiretapping, but the most detailed discussion concerns email, text messages, and other stored electronic communications. The very, very simplified version … Read more
First off, it’s Veterans’ Day. Thanks to all who have served — including Jamie Markham, who regularly contributes to this blog — and Godspeed to those who are in harm’s way today. In other recent news: 1. Two North Carolina judges have just been nominated to the Fourth Circuit: Jim Wynn, who currently sits on … Read more
Can a municipality adopt an ordinance that criminalizes loitering for the purpose of drug activity? I’ve been asked that question several times, and in fact, a number of North Carolina municipalities have such ordinances. See, e.g., Charlotte Code of Ordinances § 15-23; Hickory Code of Ordinances § 29-22(d). The answer is generally yes, though such … Read more
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m especially interested in the law regarding electronic communications and electronic evidence. (For one thing, it allows me to look at web sites like Gizmodo and claim that I’m working.) I’ve previously published a paper on law enforcement use of GPS tracking devices, as well as several blog posts about electronic … Read more
As a runner and a criminal lawyer, I found this story irresistable. The short version is that the police in Boulder, Colorado decided to stamp out the Naked Pumpkin Run, a Halloween tradition that involves 150 men and women wearing nothing but Jack-o-Lanterns on their heads running four blocks through downtown Boulder. I don’t know … Read more
Even leaving aside the saga at the Board of Elections, there have been too many interesting news stories lately to ignore. 1. The News and Observe has this story about inmates seeking release in connection with the Bowden case. (You can read previous posts about Bowden here and here.) 2. The paper’s also running a … Read more
I noted yesterday that a law enforcement officer conducting a traffic stop may order the driver and any passengers out of the vehicle. It’s also reasonably clear that the officer can order the vehicle’s occupants to remain in the vehicle. Robert L. Farb, Arrest, Search, and Investigation in North Carolina 30 & n.160 (collecting cases). … Read more
As one eminent Fourth Amendment scholar has observed, “[i]n recent years more Fourth Amendment battles have been fought about police activities incident to . . . what the courts call a ‘routine traffic stop’ than in any other context.” 4 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 9.3 (4th ed. 2004). Because so many criminal … Read more