State v. Jordan, 124PA22, ___ N.C. ___ (Mar. 22, 2024)

In this Mecklenburg County case, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals decision that denial of defendant’s motion to suppress was error. The Court remanded to the trial court for further findings of fact related to whether defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy and the appropriate ruling on defendant’s motion based on those findings of fact. 

The Court of Appeals opinion (State v. Jordan, 282 N.C. App. 651 (2022)) provides further details of the search and suppression hearing; as a brief summary, in 2017 law enforcement officers were investigating a stolen car when they saw a man flee from them and knock on the door to a home. Defendant opened the door and let the man inside, leaving the door ajar after he entered. Officers followed the man, stepping into the open doorway and observing drug paraphernalia inside the home. There was also a safe sitting in the living room, and officers saw defendant locking the door of the safe and putting the key in his pocket. The officers tried to identify who was a resident of the home; defendant said that he did not live there, but another occupant, defendant’s uncle, was identified as a resident. Defendant’s uncle gave the officers consent to search the home. Defendant claimed the safe was not his, and no one present would open the safe for a search. The officers obtained a search warrant, eventually finding cocaine, money, and a firearm. Defendant was charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a firearm by a felon. 

Before trial, defendant moved to suppress the results of the search, arguing the officers unlawfully entered the home. The trial court denied the motion by oral ruling and did not provide written findings of fact or conclusions of law. The trial court directed the State to prepare a draft order, but this was not done, and no written order was ever entered. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s denial of the motion to suppress, reasoning that defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the home which gave him standing to challenge the search. The court then concluded that the officers illegally entered the home without a warrant, justifying reversal of the trial court’s denial. 

Taking up the State’s petition for review, the Court noted that G.S. 15A-974(b) requires a trial court to make findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record, and here, “the [trial court’s] oral ruling did not include clearly identified findings of fact, with much of the court’s discussion being mere recitation of the evidence.” Slip Op. at 2. Under State v. Bartlett, 368 N.C. 309 (2015), the appellate court cannot infer the required findings of fact when there is “a material conflict in the evidence that the trial court must resolve.” Slip Op. at 7. Here, the Court noted several fact questions that needed resolution before the Court could consider whether or not defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the home, justifying his challenge to the search. The Court pointed out that it was unclear whether defendant was staying at the home or was a frequent visitor, as defendant’s uncle never told officers the nature of defendant’s occupancy. Explaining that many assumptions by the Court of Appeals, and the dissent, were based upon inferences and not facts, the Court held “that the record could support the necessary findings, but there are material fact questions that must be resolved by the fact-finder before any legal conclusion can be reached.” Id. at 10. As a result, the Court remanded to the trial court for appropriate proceedings “to make the necessary findings of fact based on the trial record.” Id. at 11. 

Justice Riggs, joined by Justice Earls, dissented and would have affirmed the Court of Appeals opinion. Id. at 12.