The most famous footnote in all the world is generally acknowledged to be footnote 4 in United States v. Carolene Products Company, 304 U.S. 144 (1938). That footnote introduced to constitutional law the concept of tiered levels of scrutiny, an idea that deeply influenced the subsequent evolution of equal protection jurisprudence. Although not likely destined for footnote 4 status, a footnote in a recent court of appeals decision captured my interest. The case is State v. Harwood, __ N.C. App. __ (2012). The case began when a Buncombe County officer received an anonymous tip that, later that day, the defendant would be selling marijuana at a particular convenience store, and that the defendant would be driving a “white vehicle.” The officer had heard from “people in the community” that the defendant had “supposedly” been selling drugs for some time. The officer, joined by a colleague, went to the convenience store, and saw the defendant pulling out of the parking lot in a white vehicle. The officers followed. The defendant accelerated, then pulled into a housing development and into the driveway of a residence where he did not live. The officers pulled in behind him, approached the vehicle, and handcuffed the defendant at gunpoint. The officers apparently read the defendant his Miranda rights, and he admitted selling drugs and agreed to let the officers search his home, where they found more drugs and a gun. At some point after the initial stop, the officers determined that there was an outstanding arrest warrant [...]
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