Is a suspect’s race relevant when determining whether the suspect’s consent to search is voluntary? In a recent case, the court of appeals stated that it may be. State v. Bartlett. The case is State v. Bartlett, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___, 2018 WL 3732948 (Aug. 7, 2018). It began when five uniformed officers participated in a traffic stop of a vehicle in which a suspected drug dealer was a passenger. One officer ordered the defendant out of the vehicle and asked for and obtained consent to search the defendant. The officer found heroin during the search. The defendant contended, among other things, that his consent was not voluntary. Part of his argument was that “people of color will view a ‘request’ to search by the police as an inherently coercive command.” (The court’s opinion does not indicate the defendant’s race, but the NCDPS inmate locator website identifies him as black.) The case reached the court of appeals, which agreed that the defendant’s “race may be a relevant factor in considering whether consent was voluntary under the totality of the circumstances.” But it found no other evidence that defendant’s consent was not voluntary: only one officer interacted with the defendant; the defendant did not testify that he was unaware of his ability to refuse the request or that he was afraid of retribution if he did so; and there was no indication that the officer threatened him, brandished his weapon, raised his voice, or made physical contact with the [...]
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