Nontestimonial Identification Orders in Delinquency Matters

The law that governs the use of nontestimonial identification procedures in delinquency matters is markedly different than the law that governs use of these same procedures in criminal matters. The Juvenile Code requires a court order prior to the use of most nontestimonial identification procedures, a nontestimonial identification order (NTO) can only be issued in relation to felony charges, there are specific statutes that govern the destruction of resulting records, and the willful violation of the juvenile NTO statutes carries a criminal penalty. This post describes when NTOs are needed, and the procedure that must be followed to obtain them, in matters under juvenile jurisdiction. When is a Nontestimonial Identification Order Required? Nontestimonial identification “means identification by fingerprints, palm prints, footprints, measurements, blood specimens, urine specimens, saliva samples, hair samples, or other reasonable physical examination, handwriting exemplars, voice samples, photographs, and lineups or similar identification procedures requiring the presence of a juvenile.” G.S. 7B-2103 (emphasis added). This is nearly identical to the definition provided in the Criminal Procedure Act. G.S. 15A-271, except that the Criminal Procedure Act references a suspect instead of a juvenile. There is therefore no difference between juvenile and criminal procedure regarding what constitutes a nontestimonial identification procedure. These procedures are 1) for identification of the juvenile as the perpetrator and 2) require the presence of the juvenile to be performed. The Procedure Must be for Identification The North Carolina Court of Appeals described what it means for a procedure to be one that is for the purpose [...]