I’ve been asked several times recently whether people who are not sworn law-enforcement officers may apply for search warrants. Somewhat to my surprise, the answer is yes. Statutory analysis. For starters, the search warrant statutes themselves suggest that anyone may apply. The statutes repeatedly refer to “the applicant” in generic terms. By contrast, they specify that execution of a search warrant is limited to a “law-enforcement officer.” G.S. 15A-247. Furthermore, G.S. 15A-245, concerning the issuance of search warrants, contains very similar language to that found in G.S. 15A-304, concerning the issuance of arrest warrants, and arrest warrants may be, and often are, issued based on the application of private citizens. Court of appeals ruling. Any uncertainty about the proper interpretation of the statutes was removed by In re 1990 Red Cherokee Jeep, VIN 1J4FJ38L4LL146261, 131 N.C. App. 108 (1998). In connection with a town’s effort to forfeit a vehicle used in criminal activity, the court of appeals stated: The issue before this Court, then, is whether the Town of Waynesville has standing to apply for a search warrant authorizing seizure of the Jeep. We find nothing in Article 11 of the Criminal Procedure Act, ‘Search Warrants,’ that would prohibit the Town from applying for a search warrant. The Criminal Procedure Act provides that only Justices, judges, clerks, and magistrates may issue search warrants, see N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-243 (1997), and that only law-enforcement officers may execute them, see N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-247 (1997), but it does not limit those [...]
Faculty Coordinators
