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• search warrant

  - for drug house; 'drug buyer' vehicle has just pulled onto scene during execution of our warrant - "Quick! ... is this car subject to search under our warrant? - by some other search theory?"
  
  

• probable cause to arrest

  - resist, delay, obstruct charge (subject ran upon being approached on "beat cab fare" call); "Subject is with me now; he is not the party from the cab, but ran anyway; is this a valid arrest, or should I let him go?"
  
  

• involuntary commitment

  - Order issued in County A; respondent located in County B; "Can we serve?; we don't have order in our possession; civil liability if we use force to enter?; to which county do we take respondent anyway?"
  
  

• 6th amendment

  - defendant jailed on embezzlement, has 6th Amendment counsel; officer to question about credit card fraud while still in custody; "What effect if suspect invokes Miranda counsel? May we even approach him where embezzlement attorney has ordered us to stay away?"
  
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  execution

  - $9 million execution sale in conflict with trustee action on same real estate; "Something doesn't sound right about this! What do we do? Can we postpone? Then what?"
  
  

• exigent entry

  - knock & talk; officers saw drug packaging on motel bed when door briefly opened; "Can we go in without a warrant - kick in the door right now?"
  
  

• trespass or eviction?

  - boyfriend's name is not on girlfriend's lease, but he has helped with rent in past; "Does this make a difference legally? Can we arrest him for trespass if girlfriend is ordering him out tonight, and he refuses to leave?"
  
  

• fitness for duty

  - 9 pm: Officer Jones arrived at roll - call with a doctor's note specifying that he be assigned to a desk job for the next three weeks; "How do I respond to this?"
  
  

• police canine

  - manager of hotel called to report "suspicious characters" staying at hotel; "Can we use canine to sniff cars in parking lot? Doors to occupied hotel rooms? Visitors coming and going from these rooms?"
  
  

• service of summons

  - posting of ejectment, a single common entranceway to several apartments, not just defendant's; "Is this valid posting? Landlord is insisting that I get personal service anyway - I've already been out here six times."
  
  

• vehicle stop

  - car due to arrive tonight from SC with drugs, per anonymous tip; "Can we stop this car? Can we search it? What about trunk? What corroboration is required?"
  
  

• fire scene

  - G.S. § 15 - 27.2 - "Paragraph (c)(1) requires a finding of 'probable cause' for issuance of the administrative warrant; so what's the difference between this and a criminal search warrant under Article 11? Which do we need?"
  
  

• probable cause

  - constructive possession of drugs; cocaine in console, the three occupants claim to "know nothing about it." "We're standing by with the car now; can anyone be charged? ...all of them? ...what did that 'NC v. Jackson' case say about this?"
  
  

• forcible entry of premises to arrest

  - copy of arrest warrant in hand; " We're down the street from the house right now; warrant is from Carteret; it's just a faxed copy of a warrant ... a misdemeanor larceny; the guy's definitely inside; can we go in?"
  
  

• summons to garnishee $ 1.6 million attachment

  - " What kind of legal process is this? How is it served? Who can I give it to if the garnishee is listed as a warehouse?"
  
  

• warrantless dig

  - for missing elderly woman; "Disturbed area of dirt is next to property line, right beside neighbor's house; is there a curtilage issue here? What do you suggest?"
  
  

• juvenile law

  - non - Miranda interrogation at school setting; "Is this juvenile 'in custody' where he is in principal's office and 'not free to leave'?"
  
  

• anonymous tip

  - midnight; suspect arriving by Amtrak any minute now; supposedly carrying drug cash on return from NY; "What is safest strategy to approach him and search his bag, based on our tip? Will you stand - by on the phone?"
  
  

• child custody order

  - dad is refusing to turn over the child, has closed the front door; "Mom is sitting in my police car, she is an attorney, threatening to sue us if we don't serve this order tonight! ...What should we do? Can you speak with her directly?"
  
  

• dorm room warrantless entry

  - marijuana smoke is quite apparent in the hallway; not sure which room is involved; "Does the university's 'consent form' dated Aug. 14 really give me the authority to have the R.A. unlock the door - and for me to go inside? What if I go in with the R.A.?"
  
  

• drug vehicle forfeiture

  - G.S. § 90 - 112(b); 4:00 a.m.; suspect pulled car into his driveway; "Does the statute authorize a seizure 'without process' if the vehicle is upon the owner's curtilage?"
  
  

• eviction

  - a finance company is claiming a superior lien on tenant's trailer; "Do we have to move this trailer anyway? How do we avoid getting in the middle of this lien dispute?"
  
  

• vehicle search

  - noon Saturday; driver arrested on warrant; there's a suspicious footlocker in the trunk; "How can we open and inspect this thing? Have we gone too far already? How can we fix it?"
  
  

• juvenile ID

  - use of photo from school yearbook; "Juvenile NTO required for this? I didn't take his picture, the school did."
  
  

• public records

  - officer charged in SBI narcotics sting; "The TV station is crawling all over me; what do I have to tell them? Can you guide me through this?"
  
  

• bankruptcy

  - debtor lied about ownership of asset as revealed in BR petition; "Attorney wants him charged criminally; is this RDO? What do I do with property I levied prior to bankruptcy?"
  
  

• arrest

  - "field unarrest" following dissipation of PC in drug seizure; "What's the deal with this? Am I liable if I keep this guy in custody without PC, or liable if I let him go?"
  
  

• "child pick - up" order

  - issued by judge in Texas; 8-yr-old child is presently in school lunchroom; "Doesn't this have to be signed a NC judge or clerk or something? What should we tell this parent? ...The school principal?"
  
  

• vehicle search incident to arrest

  - defendant was 60 feet from vehicle following foot chase; "Am I allowed to search the car?"
  
  

• levy on warehouse

  tobacco money subject to bank's lien in proceeds - "Can we levy or not? Will you explain what you just said to the bank's attorney?"
  
  

• execution on tenancy

  - in-common property owned by 7 children, conveyed to 3rd party subject to partial judgment lien; "Plaintiff's attorney is asking me how we go about selling this; how should I know?"
  
  

• crime scene search

  - young teenage girl was raped in suspect's home; suspect now in custody; "We can go ahead and search the bedroom, right? We're here now."
  
  

• burglary

  - question on elements; "Is bedroom located over store a dwelling house for purposes of G.S. § 14 - 51?"
  
  

• security guard

  - question about use of force and handcuffs; "This guy is basically a bouncer; he's putting people in handcuffs, then calling us to make trespass arrests. Can he do that under G.S. §15A - 404? Are we going to get in trouble if we continue to participate in this?"
  
  

• jurisdiction

  - question about "1 mile" and G.S. § 15A - 402(c); "We've arrested this guy, and it turns out we were about 1.2 miles outside; should we let him go? What about the evidence?"
  
  

• vehicle search

  based on marijuana smell - "We don't know who was smoking it; but can't we go ahead and search the car anyway, even without arresting anyone?"
  
  

• attachment

  - invalid "post-judgment" attachment order; $178,464; "Can I fax this to you - will you see if you think this order is really legit? Doesn't attachment have to be pre-judgment? There's a judgment right in the court file, and the clerk thinks I'm crazy."
  
  

• search warrant

  - to recover lost police equipment (badge fell from uniform) inside private home; "Can we use a search warrant to recover this? If not, can you draft us a motion for a special order?"
  
  

• SRO

  - imminent felony drug arrest to occur on school property; "Help us think through this; we don't have a warrant; do you agree with our probable cause?"
  
  

• execution

  - alienability of inter vivos contingent remainder; $480,000 judgment; "Attorney is pissed, insists that the Sheriff begin the execution process immediately; I have no idea what an 'inter vivos - thing' is; something I can sell? How do I begin? Will you talk to this attorney for me?"
  
  

• consent search

  - 15-year-old; parents' home; "Can we rely on consent from this girl just to go inside the living room, and no further?"
  
  

• trespass v. eviction

  - parent-child situation; 20-year-old son; "He moved back in two years ago, has been on drugs and now threatened to 'tear the house up'; can we arrest him for trespass before he hurts someone? What if we don't arrest him?"
  
  

• search incident to arrest

  - pager and cell phone; " It's okay for us to 'download" all these phone numbers, right?"
  
  

• report documentation

  - use of force; "We pepper-sprayed this guy when he tried to swallow ten crack rocks; how should we document this in our reports?" Are there any key legal facts that we should be sure to address?"