State v. Grady, 817 S.E.2d 18 (N.C. Ct. App. 2018)
Nature of Case: State sought to impose lifetime satellite-based monitoring (SBM) on defendant who had been convicted of a sex offense. In light of United States Supreme Court precedent, a hearing was held to determine whether lifetime SBM requirement would constitute a reasonable search under the Fourth Amendment. Trial court held that state failed to establish that lifetime SBM would be a a reasonable search, and state appealed.
Holding: North Carolina Court of Appeals held that, where state presented no evidence as to the effectiveness of SBM in prevention of sex offenses, ordering SBM would be an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Ed Note: This case was affirmed in part and reversed in part by the North Carolina Supreme Court on August 16th, 2019 by State v. Grady.