State v. MorrisÂ
246 N.C. App. 349
| N.C. Ct. App. | 2016Background
- Charles Morris pled guilty in 2007 to three counts of indecent liberties with a child and received consecutive prison terms; he completed his sentence before the 2015 hearing.
- On April 6, 2015, the Harnett County Superior Court held a Determination Hearing to decide whether Morris must register as a sex offender for life and enroll in lifetime Satellite-Based Monitoring (SBM).
- At the hearing counsel objected on Fourth Amendment unreasonable search grounds and asked that the objection be noted; no witness testimony or documentary evidence about SBM’s reasonableness was offered.
- The trial court found Morris was a recidivist under North Carolina statute, concluded Grady v. North Carolina was controlling, and summarily held lifetime registration and lifetime SBM constituted a reasonable search and were required by statute.
- The State conceded that if the State bears the burden of proving SBM’s reasonableness, the trial court erred by failing to take evidence and analyze the totality of circumstances.
- The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for a new hearing at which the trial court must assess SBM’s reasonableness under the totality-of-the-circumstances framework and the State must bear the burden of proof.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether lifetime SBM is a constitutional search and, if so, whether it is reasonable | State argued the trial court need not take evidence and that defendant failed to show unreasonableness | Morris argued lifetime continuous SBM is an unreasonable Fourth Amendment search absent evidence supporting reasonableness | Reversed: trial court must evaluate SBM under the totality-of-the-circumstances and the State must prove reasonableness |
Key Cases Cited
- Grady v. North Carolina, 575 U.S. 2015 (recognizes SBM effects a Fourth Amendment search and remands for reasonableness analysis)
- Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843 (2006) (reasonableness of a search balances privacy intrusion against governmental interests)
- Vernonia Sch. Dist. 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (1995) (same balancing framework for reasonableness of searches)