A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
The curtilage of a home is the area “directly and intimately connected with the [home] and in proximity” to it. State v. Courtright, 60 N.C. App. 247 (1983). In other words, it is the area that “harbors the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life.” United States … Read more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided Kentucky v. King, a case that addresses — actually, eviscerates — the officer-created exigency doctrine. The facts are as follows: Officers investigating possible drug crimes smelled an odor of marijuana emanating from an apartment door. They banged loudly on the door and announced their presence. They heard people moving inside … Read more
The weather forecast calls for a rainy weekend: a good time to sit around, listening to some music. Preferably Bob Dylan, since he is apparently the musician most often cited in legal opinions, more than the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen combined. In other news: 1. The Innocence Inquiry Commission is looking into an Asheville murder … Read more
Last week, I posted a paper about warrantless searches of computers and electronic devices. Today, I’m posting its companion: this paper about warrant searches of computers, which I have just finished updating today. Although the paper focuses on computers, the principles discussed in the paper apply equally to other electronic devices. It turns out that … Read more
I don’t follow professional basketball very closely, but I was absolutely stunned by a play late in a recent playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks, already leading the series 3-0, were ahead by 30 points in the final quarter of the fourth game. Dallas guard Jose Barea drove … Read more
I’ve had a couple of questions recently about something that I’d never considered before: whether a guest has “standing” to contest a search of the outbuildings associated with a host’s home. Most readers will know the legal backdrop. In order to argue that the results of an allegedly illegal police search should be suppressed, a … Read more
At least here in the Triangle, the headlines today are all about the Wake County conviction of Bradley Cooper for killing his wife, Nancy. I haven’t followed the trial closely, but I will follow the appeal with interest, because the defense has made clear that the trial judge’s exclusion of the defendant’s proposed expert witnesses … Read more
I keep a list of cases from across the country on warrantless searches of computers and other electronic devices. It covers topics like searches of cellular phones incident to arrest, whether consent to search a residence includes consent to search the computers therein, and whether there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in an employer-issued … Read more
1. The General Assembly has been working on the budget lately. The House is proposing significant budget cuts to the court system, including reductions in the number of victim/witness legal assistants, reductions to indigent defense, and reductions to the Administrative Office of the Courts, including the elimination of trial court administrators. That last bit is … Read more
This recent post by Professor Orin Kerr reports on an emerging split of authority on what the state needs to show about the training and experience of a drug-sniffing dog before a dog’s alert will provide probable cause – to search a car, for example, or to support the issuance of a search warrant for … Read more