In Re A.J. M.-B
2011 N.C. App. LEXIS 1167, 212 N.C. App. 586, 713 S.E.2d 104 (2011)
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Rule of Law:
An anonymous tip that lacks sufficient indicia of reliability regarding an assertion of illegality cannot, without more, provide the reasonable suspicion necessary to justify an investigatory stop under the Fourth Amendment.
Facts:
- On January 20, 2010, an anonymous caller reported to law enforcement that two juveniles were walking in an open field with a shotgun or rifle.
- A dispatcher relayed this information to Officer Michael Price, who proceeded to the location with two other officers.
- Upon arrival, the officers did not observe anyone in the field.
- Officer Price then saw two juveniles, including A.J. M.-B. ('Andy'), peek their heads out from a nearby wood line.
- Officer Price did not see either juvenile carrying a firearm.
- Officer Price called out to the juveniles to stop.
- In response to the officer's command, the two juveniles turned and ran away.
Procedural Posture:
- A.J. M.-B. ('Andy') was charged with resisting a public officer in Cabarrus County District Court, the trial court.
- At the conclusion of the adjudication hearing, Andy's counsel moved to dismiss the charge.
- The trial court denied the motion to dismiss.
- The trial court adjudicated Andy delinquent for the offense of resisting a public officer.
- At a subsequent disposition hearing, the court ordered Andy committed to a youth development center for violating his post-release supervision from a prior, unrelated case.
- The trial court then entered a separate order dismissing the resisting a public officer case, but the adjudication of delinquency remained on Andy's record.
- Andy appealed the disposition and commitment order to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, thereby challenging the underlying adjudication.
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Issue:
Does an uncorroborated anonymous tip alleging that two juveniles are carrying a firearm provide the necessary reasonable suspicion for a police officer to conduct an investigatory stop?
Opinions:
Majority - Calabria, Judge
No, an uncorroborated anonymous tip alleging that two juveniles are carrying a firearm does not, by itself, provide the reasonable suspicion necessary for an investigatory stop. The court reasoned that for a stop to be lawful, it must be justified at its inception by reasonable suspicion, which requires specific and articulable facts indicating criminal activity is afoot. Relying on the Supreme Court's precedent in Florida v. J.L., the court held that an anonymous tip must be reliable in its 'assertion of illegality, not just in its tendency to identify a determinate person.' Here, the anonymous tip was not corroborated by any independent police observation of criminal activity; Officer Price did not see a firearm. Because the stop was unlawful from the beginning, Andy's subsequent flight could not be used to justify it, as an individual has the right to resist the illegal conduct of an officer.
Analysis:
This decision reaffirms and applies the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Florida v. J.L. to North Carolina juvenile law, solidifying the principle that anonymous tips require independent corroboration of illegal activity to justify a Terry stop. The ruling clarifies that even a report of a firearm, a potentially dangerous situation, does not create a per se exception to the reasonable suspicion standard. This holding reinforces Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable seizures based on unverified information and establishes that flight from an unlawful stop cannot retroactively justify that stop or form the basis for a resisting arrest charge.
