How’s a Magistrate to Know Whether a Confidential Informant Is Reliable?

Search warrant applications are often based on information from confidential informants. Whether the informant is reliable is critical. Information from a reliable informant is often sufficient to establish probable cause, while information from an informant whose reliability isn’t established is often insufficient. So how’s a magistrate to know whether an informant is reliable? A recent opinion from the court of appeals provides an opportunity to examine that question. Background. The case is State v. Brody, __ N.C. App. __, __ S.E.2d __, 2017 WL 491222 (Feb. 7, 2017). It started with a drug investigation in Charlotte. An officer applied for a search warrant for the defendant’s home. The affidavit said that the officer had received information from “a confidential and reliable informant” that the defendant was dealing drugs from his residence. Specifically, the informant claimed to have been in the defendant’s home over thirty times, including within the last 48 hours, and stated that he had seen evidence of drug dealing each time. Further, the affidavit indicated that the “informant has arranged, negotiated and purchased cocaine from [the defendant] under the direct supervision of” the officer, though the application did not detail the time, place, or circumstances of the purchase. Regarding the officer’s experience with the informant, the affidavit continued: Investigators have known this informant for approximately two weeks. This informant has provided information on other persons involved in drug trafficking in the Charlotte area which we have investigated independently. Through interviews with the informant, detectives know this informant is familiar [...]