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NC: Digital scale could be seized under plain feel

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Plain feel of a digital scale during a patdown was reasonable under Dickerson. State v. Morton, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 1054 (June 15, 2010). Looking in on a stopped pickup truck in a parking lot at 2 a.m. with a driver slumped over the wheel was reasonable under the community caretaking function. The driver was DUI. City of Mandan v. Gerhardt, 2010 ND 112, 2010 N.D. LEXIS 113 (June 15, 2010).* For the learning impaired courts: [*P7] A person alleging a violation of Fourth Amendment rights has the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of illegal seizure. City of Jamestown v. Jerome, 2002 ND 34, P 6, 639 N.W.2d 478 (citing City of Fargo v. Sivertson, 1997 ND 204, P 6, 571 N.W.2d 137). "After the person alleging a Fourth Amendment violation has made a prima facie case, the burden of persuasion is shifted to the State to justify its actions...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 20, 2010 (boomark / email).