NC: Frisk for ID was unreasonable when defendant refused to identify himself

This juvenile was subjected to a patdown for weapons and none were found. He refused to identify himself, so the officer searched for ID, finding instead a credit card that belonged to someone else. The frisk for the ID was unreasonable. In re D.B., 214 N.C. App. 489, 714 S.E.2d 522 (2011):

Although the State relies upon Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court of Nev., 542 U.S. 177, 159 L. Ed. 2d 292, 124 S. Ct. 2451 (2004), for the proposition that “the identity of a suspect can significantly impact the safety of an officer,” Hiibel does not address an officer’s using a pat-down to uncover evidence of identification. At issue in Hiibel was whether a Nevada statute requiring a suspect to disclose his name in the course of a valid Terry stop was consistent with Fourth Amendment prohibitions against unreasonable searches and seizures. Id. at 187-88, 159 L. Ed. 2d at 303-04, 124 S. Ct. at 2459. The Court determined that because the defendant’s obligation to identify himself arose from a state statute, and because the statute satisfied the Fourth Amendment constitutional standards, “[t]he principles of Terry permit[ted] a State to require a suspect to disclose his name in the course of a Terry stop.” Id. at 187, 159 L. Ed. 2d at 304, 124 S. Ct. at 2459 (emphasis added).

While many states have enacted “stop and identify” statutes such as the one in Hiibel, North Carolina has not. The State overlooks this crucial distinction. We further note that in Hiibel, the Supreme Court did not hold that an officer could, during the Terry frisk, search for proof of identification as well as weapons. Although the Court did note in passing that officers called to investigate domestic disputes need to know whom they are dealing with in order to assess the situation and the threat to their own safety, the Court did not suggest that an officer can use a pat-down to locate an identification card. Id. at 186, 159 L. Ed. 2d at 303, 124 S. Ct. at 2458.