Editor's note: The opinion analyzed in this post was withdrawn shortly after publication and replaced with this opinion reaching the same outcome. Last week, in State v. Ellis, __ N.C. App. __, __ S.E.2d __, 2019 WL 3559644 (N.C. Ct. App. Aug. 6, 2019), a divided panel of the court of appeals held that a trooper properly stopped a vehicle “after witnessing . . . a passenger in [the] vehicle . . . extend his middle finger in the trooper’s general direction.” The majority acknowledged that “there are a number of decisions from courts across the country [holding] that one cannot be held criminally liable for simply raising his middle finger at an officer.” Yet it ruled that the defendant’s conduct provided reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, namely, disorderly conduct. See generally G.S. 14-288.4(a)(2) (making it unlawful to make a gesture “intended and plainly likely to provoke violent retaliation”). Let’s take a closer look at Ellis. Facts. A trooper was assisting a stalled motorist on the side of a highway when an SUV passed by. The defendant stuck his arm out of the passenger window of the SUV, waved, and then shot the bird in the trooper’s direction, though the trooper testified that he “was unsure at whom Defendant was gesturing.” The trooper pursued the SUV and pulled it over. The defendant’s wife was driving, and she provided her ID to the trooper. The defendant refused to provide his, and the trooper cited him for resisting a public officer. Reasonable suspicion? [...]
Faculty Coordinators
