Opinion
No. 197P20
09-23-2020
STATE of North Carolina v. Jeremy JOHNSON
Matthew Tulchin, Special Deputy Attorney General, For State of North Carolina. Glenn Gerding, Appellate Defender, For Johnson, Jeremy. Kathryn L. VandenBerg, Assistant Appellant Defender, For Johnson, Jeremy. Daniel P. O'Brien, Special Deputy Attorney General, For State of North Carolina. N. Lorrin Freeman, District Attorney, For State of North Carolina.
Matthew Tulchin, Special Deputy Attorney General, For State of North Carolina.
Glenn Gerding, Appellate Defender, For Johnson, Jeremy.
Kathryn L. VandenBerg, Assistant Appellant Defender, For Johnson, Jeremy.
Daniel P. O'Brien, Special Deputy Attorney General, For State of North Carolina.
N. Lorrin Freeman, District Attorney, For State of North Carolina.
SPECIAL ORDER
Defendant's petition for a writ of supersedeas is allowed. Defendant's petition for discretionary review is allowed for the limited purpose of remanding this matter to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration of the trial court's 14 November 2018 Order denying defendant's motion to dismiss and motion to suppress evidence based on the claim that the officer's decision to initially seize defendant violated his rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the parallel provisions of the North Carolina Constitution. Defendant's motion to amend his petition for discretionary review is dismissed as moot.
The remand for reconsideration of the trial court's 14 November 2018 Order is necessary because the Court of Appeals opinion concluded that there was no violation of defendant's right to equal protection under the law because the law enforcement officer had "the reasonable suspicion necessary for the subsequent stop of defendant" under the Fourth Amendment. See State v. Johnson, ––– N.C.App. ––––, 840 S.E.2d 539 (2020) (unpublished). We remand to the Court of Appeals for an examination of defendant's equal protection claims under the state and federal constitutions separate from its analysis of his Fourth Amendment claims.
By order of the Court in Conference, this the 23rd day of September, 2020.