{ "id": 4174496, "name": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. KIM HESTER BATTLE, Defendant-Appellant", "name_abbreviation": "State v. Battle", "decision_date": "2010-02-16", "docket_number": "No. COA09-201", "first_page": "376", "last_page": "404", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "202 N.C. App. 376" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C. Ct. App.", "id": 14983, "name": "North Carolina Court of Appeals" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "647 S.E.2d 129", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12638933 ], "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "136", "parenthetical": "\"[E]xigent circumstances are also apparent in this case: Juvenile had drags in his mouth and could have swallowed them, destroying the evidence or harming himself.\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/647/0129-01" ] }, { "cite": "668 S.E.2d 46", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12642212 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "62" }, { "page": "62" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/668/0046-01" ] }, { "cite": "657 S.E.2d 361", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12640450 ], "year": 2008, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/657/0361-01" ] }, { "cite": "653 S.E.2d 414", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12639957 ], "weight": 11, "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "419" }, { "page": "418" }, { "page": "418" }, { "page": "419" }, { "page": "418", "parenthetical": "citation omitted" }, { "page": "419" }, { "page": "419", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" }, { "page": "417", "parenthetical": "internal citations omitted" }, { "page": "417" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/653/0414-01" ] }, { "cite": "924 A.2d 308", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "A.2d", "case_ids": [ 4112269, 4111391 ], "weight": 3, "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "319" }, { "page": "319" }, { "page": "315", "parenthetical": "citation omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/md/399/0340-01", "/md/399/0341-01" ] }, { "cite": "530 S.E.2d 313", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2000, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "317-20" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "138 N.C. App. 48", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 11078493 ], "year": 2000, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "52-58" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/138/0048-01" ] }, { "cite": "3 Misc. 3d 481", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Misc. 3d", "case_ids": [ 82280 ], "year": 2004, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/misc3d/3/0481-01" ] }, { "cite": "469 U.S. 325", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 11959437 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1985, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/469/0325-01" ] }, { "cite": "184 N.C. App. 579", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8187030 ], "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "587", "parenthetical": "\"[E]xigent circumstances are also apparent in this case: Juvenile had drags in his mouth and could have swallowed them, destroying the evidence or harming himself.\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/184/0579-01" ] }, { "cite": "454 S.E.2d 680", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 4, "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "Smith I, and in conjunction with our Supreme Court's adoption of the dissent in Smith I, Smith" }, { "page": "681-82" }, { "page": "682" }, { "page": "683" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "118 N.C. App. 106", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 11916879 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "Smith I, and in conjunction with our Supreme Court's adoption of the dissent in Smith I, Smith" }, { "page": "107-08" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/118/0106-01" ] }, { "cite": "464 S.E.2d 45", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "Smith II" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "342 N.C. 407", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 796061 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "Smith II" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/342/0407-01" ] }, { "cite": "477 F.3d 974", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.3d", "case_ids": [ 3778423 ], "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "977" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f3d/477/0974-01" ] }, { "cite": "442 U.S. 465", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 1532189 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1979, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "471", "parenthetical": "emphasis added" }, { "parenthetical": "emphasis added" }, { "parenthetical": "emphasis added" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/442/0465-01" ] }, { "cite": "193 N.C. App. 458", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 4161834 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "483" }, { "page": "483" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/193/0458-01" ] }, { "cite": "466 U.S. 740", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6205546 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "751", "parenthetical": "\" 'When an officer undertakes to act as his own magistrate, he ought to be in a position to justify it by pointing to some real immediate and serious consequences if he postponed action to get a warrant.' \"" }, { "page": "744", "parenthetical": "\" 'When an officer undertakes to act as his own magistrate, he ought to be in a position to justify it by pointing to some real immediate and serious consequences if he postponed action to get a warrant.' \"" }, { "page": "752" }, { "page": "745", "parenthetical": "\" 'The [exigent-circumstances] exception is narrowly drawn to cover cases of real and not contrived emergencies.' \"" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/466/0740-01" ] }, { "cite": "540 U.S. 366", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 8897100 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2003, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "371", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" }, { "page": "775", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/540/0366-01" ] }, { "cite": "723 F.2d 1263", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.2d", "case_ids": [ 1914508 ], "year": 1983, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "1270-71" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f2d/723/1263-01" ] }, { "cite": "950 F.2d 1437", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.2d", "case_ids": [ 10528360 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "1446", "parenthetical": "\"[T]he 'full search [incident to arrest]' authorized by [the United States Supreme Court decision in] Robinson was limited to a pat-down and an examination of the arrestee's pockets, and did not extend to 'a strip search or bodily intrusion.' \"" }, { "page": "1446" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f2d/950/1437-01" ] }, { "cite": "82 F.3d 427", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.3d", "year": 1996, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14165", "category": "reporters:specialty_lexis", "reporter": "U.S. Dist. LEXIS", "weight": 5, "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "13-14" }, { "page": "26" }, { "page": "8-26" }, { "page": "14" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "958 F.2d 987", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.2d", "case_ids": [ 10522027 ], "year": 1992, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f2d/958/0987-01" ] }, { "cite": "989 F.2d 393", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.2d", "case_ids": [ 10512881 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1993, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "395" }, { "page": "396" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f2d/989/0393-01" ] }, { "cite": "22 F.3d 1185", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.3d", "weight": 3, "year": 1994, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "107 F.3d 248", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.3d", "case_ids": [ 7636999 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "256" }, { "page": "256" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f3d/107/-1328-01" ] }, { "cite": "1994 WL 539300", "category": "reporters:specialty_west", "reporter": "WL", "weight": 2, "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "8" }, { "page": "26" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "462 U.S. 640", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6192095 ], "weight": 9, "year": 1983, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "645" }, { "page": "2609" }, { "page": "645" }, { "page": "70-71" }, { "page": "647" }, { "page": "72", "parenthetical": "holding that police practice of searching all containers carried by an arrestee upon entering a police station is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment even if less intrusive means were available" }, { "page": "645" }, { "page": "71" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/462/0640-01" ] }, { "cite": "6 F.Supp.2d 1084", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F. Supp. 2d", "case_ids": [ 535461 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1998, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "1088" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f-supp-2d/6/1084-01" ] }, { "cite": "547 U.S. 103", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 3275967 ], "weight": 3, "year": 2006, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "111" }, { "page": "220" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/547/0103-01" ] }, { "cite": "961 F.2d 188", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F.2d", "case_ids": [ 1863269 ], "year": 1992, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "191" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f2d/961/0188-01" ] }, { "cite": "384 U.S. 757", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 12047531 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1966, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "769-70" }, { "page": "919" }, { "page": "769-70" }, { "page": "919" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/384/0757-01" ] }, { "cite": "441 U.S. 520", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 1780223 ], "weight": 6, "year": 1979, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "559" }, { "page": "481" }, { "page": "559" }, { "page": "481" }, { "page": "559" }, { "page": "481" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/441/0520-01" ] }, { "cite": "489 U.S. 602", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 12032926 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "619", "parenthetical": "internal citations omitted" }, { "page": "661", "parenthetical": "internal citations omitted" }, { "page": "619" }, { "page": "661" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/489/0602-01" ] }, { "cite": "500 U.S. 248", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6221328 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "250-51" }, { "page": "302" }, { "page": "251" }, { "page": "303" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/500/0248-01" ] }, { "cite": "610 S.E.2d 360", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "360" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "359 N.C. 400", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 3799435 ], "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "401" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/359/0400-01" ] }, { "cite": "362 N.C. 191", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4149183 ], "year": 2008, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/362/0191-01" ] }, { "cite": "392 U.S. 1", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6167798 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1968, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "20" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/392/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "174 L. Ed. 2d 354", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "case_ids": [ 3657901 ], "weight": 22, "year": 2009, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "364", "parenthetical": "internal citations omitted" }, { "page": "364" }, { "page": "364" }, { "page": "364" }, { "page": "361" }, { "page": "360" }, { "page": "362-63" }, { "page": "363" }, { "page": "364" }, { "page": "364-65" }, { "page": "365" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/557/0364-01" ] }, { "cite": "187 S.E.2d 706", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1972, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "710" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "281 N.C. 1", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8573594 ], "year": 1972, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "7" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/281/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "584 S.E.2d 820", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2003, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "823" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "160 N.C. 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App. 711", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. 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KIM HESTER BATTLE, Defendant-Appellant" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "McGEE, Judge.\nKim Hester Battle (Defendant) was indicted on 1 October 2007 for possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Defendant filed a motion to suppress on 6 October 2008. This motion was heard on 7-8 October 2008, and following the presentation of the evidence, the trial court denied Defendant\u2019s motion. Following the denial of Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress, Defendant entered into a plea agreement with the State whereupon Defendant admitted guilt to both charges. Defendant was given a sentence of five to six months\u2019 imprisonment, which was suspended, and Defendant was placed on supervised probation for twenty-four months. Defendant preserved her right to appeal the denial of her motion to suppress pursuant to the plea agreement. Defendant appeals.\nThe State\u2019s evidence at the suppression hearing tended to show the following: Granville County Sheriff\u2019s Department detectives Kevin Dickerson and Christa Lynn Curl (the detectives), members of a special drug unit, received a tip from a confidential informant concerning drug activity on 31 August 2007. Detective Curl was Detective Dickerson\u2019s supervisor at that time. Detective Dickerson testified that the informant had proven reliable in the past, and the informant\u2019s tips had led to \u201cthirty plus\u201d arrests. The informant had told Detective Dickerson that \u201cGlen Murfree [(Murfree)] would be picking up Antonio Evans [(Evans)] and [Murfree\u2019sj girlfriend, [Defendant], would also be in the vehicle.\u201d The informant further stated that Murfree would be driving his father\u2019s green Oldsmobile, and that they would be heading to Durham to purchase an ounce to an ounce and a half of cocaine. The informant indicated that following the trip to Durham, the threesome would return by \u201ccoming up 85. They would get off at the Linden Avenue exit and come into town on Linden Avenue.\u201d Detectives Curl and Dickerson, traveling in a black Chevrolet Tahoe (the Tahoe), drove to a Shell service station where they set up surveillance of the Linden Avenue exit for Interstate 85 North. Detectives Curl and Dickerson discussed how they would handle the situation if they were to spot the subject vehicle. The detectives had recently received an SBI report indicating that a substance seized from Murfree on a prior occasion had tested positive for cocaine. Based upon this new information, the detectives decided to \u201cplace [Murfree] under arrest immediately.\u201d Detective Curl testified that her \u201cintent was to stop the vehicle and if we found \u2014 located drugs in the car, to make an arrest.\u201d The detectives did in fact spot a green Oldsmobile, \u201cdriven by [Murfree]. [Evans was] seated in the back seat. [Defendant was] seated in the front seat.\u201d The Oldsmobile was determined to be registered to Murfree\u2019s father. The detectives followed the Oldsmobile for a distance, then activated the blue light and initiated a stop. The detectives approached the Oldsmobile, and Detective Dickerson asked Murfree for his license and registration, which Murfree provided.\nDetective Dickerson called in the information from the Tahoe, and also called for \u201can additional unit\u201d for backup. When asked why he had called for backup, Detective Dickerson testified: \u201cBecause I knew we were about to arrest [Murfree] and search the .. . vehicle[.]\u201d Two additional officers arrived at the scene in response to Detective Dickerson\u2019s call. Murfree, hpon being asked, told Detective Dickerson that there were no drugs in the Oldsmobile. Detective Dickerson requested that Murfree exit the vehicle, and Murfree complied. Detective Dickerson \u201ctook possession of [Murfree] and Detective Curl noticed some green, small baggies [in the driver\u2019s side door of the Oldsmobile.]\u201d Both detectives testified that there were \u201cover fifty total\u201d small Ziplock bags contained within one larger Ziplock bag. Both detectives testified that, based on their training and experience, the bags constituted \u201cdrug paraphernalia.\u201d Detective Dickerson then placed Murfree in handcuffs and escorted him to the Tahoe, opened both the front and rear passenger doors, placed Murfree between the doors, informed him that he was under arrest for the prior cocaine charge, and searched Murfree. No contraband was recovered from that search. Evans was also searched and, because no contraband was found on him, he was released.\nDetective Curl, who is female, asked Defendant if Defendant was carrying any drugs, to which Defendant responded that she was not. Detective Curl then told Defendant that she \u201cwas [going to] check [Defendant] first for weapons and then ... was [going to] search her.\u201d Detective Curl then escorted Defendant to the Tahoe, and conducted a search of Defendant. Defendant was placed between the open doors of the Tahoe, and also between the body of the Tahoe and Detective Curl. Detective Curl testified she placed Defendant in this location for the search\n[b]ecause I \u2014 you don\u2019t want to be intrusive. I didn\u2019t want to show the public what we were doing, for one thing. And it \u2014 I mean, a privacy issue. I mean, you are going to search a lady and you\u2019re going to try to be as less intrusive as you can. You don\u2019t want to show everything.\nDetective Curl instructed Defendant to pull the bottom of her bra away from her body and shake the bra. Defendant was not required to remove her shirt or lift it up to do this. Twice Detective Curl testified that nothing fell from Defendant\u2019s bra area: \u201cQ. [Y]ou checked and there was nothing in the bra, right? A. Right.\u201d Defendant testified that a package of rolling papers fell out from her bra at this time. Detective Curl then conducted a pat-down search of Defendant, and placed her hands inside Defendant\u2019s pockets. Detective Curl felt nothing that suggested Defendant was carrying a weapon or contraband pursuant to this search. Detective Curl then testified that\nI went down to start checking her pants. And as I reached down to the front of her pants, [Defendant] reached [as if Defendant was attempting to reach inside her pants]. [Defendant] reached down to her pants. I said, no, stop. And I told her ... let me do this. And again, I reached, trying to \u2014 she had \u2014 the pants she had on, they had a zipper on them and I reached to grab again, she reached down again. I told her for a second time, no, let me do this. I said, . . . Detective Dickerson, step back here, because he had the Taser in his hand. ... He stepped back to where we\u2014 where I was searching her. He put his back against mine, facing the opposite direction of [Defendant].\nDetective Curl testified that she asked Detective Dickerson to stand nearby with the Taser in case Defendant \u201creached again and we had to struggle[.]\u201d Detective Dickerson testified that he readied his Taser \u201c[n]ot knowing if [Defendant] was going to actively resist and if she had a weapon or anything of that nature on her person. At this time we didn\u2019t know that she had any drugs on her or not. It could have been a weapon.\u201d Detective Curl testified that she\nreached the third time. I pulled her pants open in front. They were unzipped. I pulled them open. Pulled her underwear back and between her skin and the underwear was a five dollar bill and a crack pipe. I reached in and retrieved it. I opened the five dollar bill up. There was a plastic baggie with tan powder inside. I placed her under arrest for possession of heroin.\nDetective Curl testified that Defendant\u2019s pants were unzipped and open, but not pulled down, and that she pulled Defendant\u2019s underwear out away from Defendant\u2019s body from the front and from behind in order to see inside, but that Defendant\u2019s underwear was never \u201cdropped.\u201d Detective Curl \u201ccould see the top of [Defendant\u2019s] \u2014 -just\u2014 her hairline [pubic hair,]\u201d and also Defendant\u2019s buttocks. Detective Curl testified that in her experience drugs are often hidden in a suspect\u2019s underwear, and that \u201cguys would give [drugs] to the girls because ninety-five percent of the time a female officer is not there and the ladies are not going to get searched.\u201d\nThe search was conducted between 5:00 and 5:45 p.m., and it was daylight. At no time did either detective notice anything in the vehicle or on the occupants that resembled a weapon, nor were any drugs found prior to the heroin retrieved from Defendant\u2019s underwear. Defendant, Murfree and Evans were compliant and non-threatening throughout the entire stop and arrests, other than when Defendant reached towards her pants as Detective Curl was attempting to search inside Defendant\u2019s underwear. Additional facts will be discussed in the body of the opinion.\nI.\nDefendant makes two arguments on appeal under the umbrella heading that the trial court erred by dismissing her motion to suppress. Defendant contends that her rights pursuant to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of North Carolina were violated by what amounted to a strip search of Defendant conducted by Detective Curl in public. We address these two arguments separately below.\nThe scope of appellate review of a ruling upon a motion to suppress is \u201cstrictly limited to determining whether the trial judge\u2019s underlying findings of fact are supported by competent evidence, in which event they are conclusively binding on appeal, and whether those factual findings in turn support the judge\u2019s ultimate conclusions of law.\u201d An appellate court accords great deference to the trial court\u2019s ruling on a motion to suppress because the trial court is entrusted with the duty to hear testimony (thereby observing the demeanor of the witnesses) and to weigh and resolve any conflicts in the evidence. . . . \u201cWhere there is no material conflict in the evidence, findings and conclusions are not necessary even though the better practice is to find facts.\u201d\nState v. Johnston, 115 N.C. App. 711, 713-14, 446 S.E.2d 135, 137 (1994) (internal citations omitted). \u201c[T]he trial court\u2019s conclusions of law must be legally correct, reflecting a correct application of applicable legal principles to the facts found.\u201d State v. Fernandez, 346 N.C. 1, 11, 484 S.E.2d 350, 357 (1997). \u201c \u2018[P]er se rules are inappropriate in the Fourth Amendment context,\u2019 as \u2018the proper inquiry necessitates a consideration of \u201call the circumstances surrounding the encounter.\u201d \u2019) (quoting Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 115 L. Ed. 2d 389, 402 (1991))\u201d State v. Stone, 362 N.C. 50, 56-57, 653 S.E.2d 414, 419 (2007). The State has the burden of proving that all evidence was lawfully obtained. State v. Gibson, 32 N.C. App. 584, 586, 233 S.E.2d 84, 86 (1977). \u201c[A]lthough the standard is the same, more evidence may be required when the officer is acting without a warrant.\u201d State v. Nixon, 160 N.C. App. 31, 34, 584 S.E.2d 820, 823 (2003); see also State v. Harvey, 281 N.C. 1, 7, 187 S.E.2d 706, 710 (1972).\nWe first note that neither the United States Supreme Court nor the appellate courts of this State have clearly defined the term \u201cstrip search.\u201d However, the United States Supreme Court has stated:\nThe exact label for this final step in the intrusion is not important, though strip search is a fair way to speak of it. [Two female school officials] directed [the female student] to remove her clothes down to her underwear, and then \u201cpull out\u201d her bra and the elastic band on her underpants. Although [the two female school officials] stated that they did not see anything when [the female student] followed their instructions, we. would not define strip search and its Fourth Amendment consequences in a way that would guarantee litigation about who was looking and how much was seen. The very fact of [the female student\u2019s] pulling her underwear away from her body in the presence of the two officials who were able to see her necessarily exposed her breasts and pelvic area to some degree, and both subjective and reasonable societal expectations of personal privacy support the treatment of such a search as categorically distinct, requiring distinct elements of justification on the part of school authorities for going beyond a search of outer clothing and belongings.\nSafford Unified Sch. Dist. #1 v. Redding, -U.S. -, -, 174 L. Ed. 2d 354, 364 (2009) (internal citations omitted) (emphasis added). We further note that the attorneys for both the State and Defendant referred to the search of Defendant as a \u201cstrip search\u201d at the suppression hearing, and we will refer to the contested search as a \u201cstrip search.\u201d\nII.\nIn Defendant\u2019s first argument, she contends that \u201ceven if the informant\u2019s tip provided reasonable suspicion for the stop of the car . . . [Detective Curl] lacked probable cause to conduct what amounted to a strip search of [Defendant.]\u201d\nHowever, Defendant\u2019s first argument rests entirely upon the assumption that any search of Defendant was permissible solely upon the basis of reasonable suspicion, as defined and limited by Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889 (1968), and United States Supreme Court and North Carolina appellate court opinions following Terry. Defendant argues that the search of Defendant went beyond the scope allowed pursuant to a Terry stop. Defendant\u2019s first assignment of error states in relevant part that the trial court erred \u201cwhen it denied . . . [Defendant's motion to suppress evidence on the grounds that law enforcement did not have probable cause to conduct a \u2018strip search\u2019 of. . . [Defendant in a public place.\u201d\nFirst, Defendant\u2019s argument does not conform to the relevant assignment of error, which states that Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress was based upon a lack of probable cause, not upon a search that exceeded the scope permitted based upon a reasonable suspicion. Second, the trial court\u2019s order dismissing Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress was based on the trial court\u2019s conclusion that probable cause existed for the search of Defendant, and does not mention the presence or absence of any reasonable suspicion. Third, Defendant makes no argument in this part of her brief that probable cause was lacking for the search of Defendant, only that the search was outside the scope permitted pursuant to Terry and its progeny. As Defendant makes no such argument, Defendant also cites no authority in support of a contention that probable cause was lacking in this case. Defendant\u2019s argument violates multiple rules of appellate procedure, and is subject to dismissal. Dogwood Dev. & Mgmt. Co. v. White Oak Transp. Co., 362 N.C. 191, 657 S.E.2d 361 (2008); Viar v. N.C. DOT, 359 N.C. 400, 401, 610 S.E.2d 360, 360 (2005). Fourth, assuming arguendo the search of Defendant did fall outside the scope of what is permitted during a Terry stop \u2014 an issue not properly before this Court on this appeal \u2014 that fact would not serve as a basis upon which to find error with the trial court\u2019s order, as the trial court bases its order on its determination that probable cause existed on the facts before it. Johnston, 115 N.C. App. at 713-14, 446 S.E.2d at 137. This argument is without merit.\nIII.\nIn Defendant\u2019s second argument, she contends that the contested search violated her Fourth Amendment rights because it \u201cconstituted an unnecessary intrusion into [Defendant\u2019s] privacy and was unreasonable under the totality of the circumstances.\u201d We agree.\nThe touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is reasonableness. The Fourth Amendment does not proscribe all state-initiated searches and seizures; it merely proscribes those which are unreasonable. Thus, we have long approved consensual searches because it is no doubt reasonable for the police to conduct a search once they have been permitted to do so.\nFlorida v. Jimeno, 500 U.S. 248, 250-51, 114 L. Ed. 2d 297, 302 (1991). The scope of a search is generally defined by its expressed object. Id. at 251, 114 L. Ed. 2d 297, 303.\nWhat is reasonable, of course, \u201cdepends on all of the circumstances surrounding the search or seizure and the nature of the search or seizure itself.\u201d Thus, the permissibility of a particular practice \u201cis judged by balancing its intrusion on the individual\u2019s Fourth Amendment interests against its promotion of legitimate governmental interests.\u201d\nSkinner v. Ry. Labor Executives\u2019 Ass\u2019n, 489 U.S. 602, 619, 103 L. Ed. 2d 639, 661 (1989) (internal citations omitted).\nThe test of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is not capable of precise definition or mechanical application. In each case it requires a balancing of the need for the particular search against the invasion of personal rights that the search entails. Courts must consider the scope of the particular intrusion, the manner in which it is conducted, the justification for initiating it, and the place in which it is conducted.\nBell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 559, 60 L. Ed. 2d 447, 481 (1979).\nThe interests in human dignity and privacy which the Fourth Amendment protects forbid any such intrusions on the mere chance that desired evidence might be obtained. In the absence of a clear indication that in fact such evidence will be found, these fundamental human interests require law officers to suffer the risk that such evidence may disappear unless there is an immediate search.\nSchmerber v. Cal., 384 U.S. 757, 769-70, 16 L. Ed. 2d 908, 919 (1966).\nA. Scope of the Particular Intrusion\nOur Supreme Court stated in Stone that \u201c \u2018deeply imbedded in our culture ... is the belief that people have a reasonable expectation not to be unclothed involuntarily, to be observed unclothed or to have their \u201cprivate\u201d parts observed or touched by others.\u2019 \u201d Stone, 362 N.C. at 55, 653 S.E.2d at 418 (quoting Justice v. City of Peachtree, 961 F.2d 188, 191 (11th Cir. 1992)).\nThe United States Supreme Court has said that the \u201cconstant element in assessing Fourth Amendment reasonableness in consent cases is the great significance given to widely shared social expectations.\u201d Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103, 111, 164 L. Ed. 2d 208, 220 (2006). The search of. . . intimate areas would surely violate our widely shared social expectation; these areas are referred to as \u201cprivate parts\u201d for obvious reasons.\nId. In Starks v. City of Minneapolis, 6 F.Supp.2d 1084 (D.Minn., 1998), the United States District Court of Minnesota commented on the rarity of this kind of invasive roadside search.\nAs one might expect, there is very little case law considering the use of on-street strip searches. The Court considers the paucity of case law as reflective of the natural assumption that these things simply do not occur. By way of example, the United States Supreme Court, when considering the governmental interest underlying a stationhouse search of an arrestee, stated in Illinois v. Lafayette, 462 U.S. 640, 645, 103 S.Ct. 2605, 2609, 77 L.Ed.2d 65 (1983) that, \u201cthe interests supporting a search incident to arrest would hardly justify disrobing an arrestee on the street.\u201d Other courts have explicitly recognized that a strip search on a public street is not justified. \u201cProbable cause that an arrestee is hiding something on his body does not justify conducting on a public street a strip search or some search akin to one.\u201d United States v. Bazy, Nos. 94-40018-01-SAC, 94-40018-02-SAC, 1994 WL 539300, at 8 (D.Kan. Aug.29, 1994).\nSimilarly, the Fourth Circuit upheld a strip search which occurred in a police van, finding it was not unconstitutional because \u201cthe search did not occur on the street subject to public viewing.\u201d United States v. Dorlouis, 107 F.3d 248, 256 (4th Cir. 1997). Under very unusual circumstances, the D.C. Circuit upheld a strip search on a public street when officers had deduced that the defendant was trying to push drugs into his buttocks. But even under such circumstances, that circuit stated, \u201cWe wish to make it clear, however, that such public intrusions should not be the norm. Ordinarily, when police wish to search the private areas of an arrestee\u2019s person incident to arrest, they should first remove the arrestee to a private location \u2014 i.e., a private room in the stationhouse.\u201d United States v. Murray, 22 F.3d 1185 (D.C. Cir. 1994).\nStarks, 6 F.Supp.2d at 1088.\u2019\n\u201cA strip search is an invasion of personal rights of the first magnitude.\u201d Chapman v. Nichols, 989 F.2d 393, 395 (10th Cir. 1993). The Seventh Circuit described strip searches as \u201cdemeaning, dehumanizing, undignified, humiliating, terrifying, unpleasant, embarrassing, repulsive, signifying degradation and submission.\u201d Mary Beth G. v. City of Chicago, 723 F.2d at 1272; see also Chapman, 989 F.2d at 396. No matter how professional or courteous the manner used in conducting a strip search, it remains an embarrassing and humiliating experience. Boren v. Deland, 958 F.2d 987, 988 n. 1 (10th Cir. 1992). Strip searches, thus, are not a matter of course for searches incident either to arrest or detention.\nUnited States v. Bazy, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14165, 13-14 (D. Kan. Aug. 29, 1994), aff\u2019d, 82 F.3d 427, (10th Cir., 1996); see also Fuller v. M.G. Jewelry, 950 F.2d 1437, 1446 (9th Cir. 1991) (\u201c[T]he \u2018full search [incident to arrest]\u2019 authorized by [the United States Supreme Court decision in] Robinson was limited to a pat-down and an examination of the arrestee\u2019s pockets, and did not extend to \u2018a strip search or bodily intrusion.\u2019 \u201d).\nIn the present case, the trial court made the following relevant findings of fact:\n21. Detective Curl . . . unbuttoned [Defendant's pants . . ., unzipped the zipper and lowered the pants ... so that the top of the pants rested on the lower part of [D]efendant\u2019s hip. Detective Curl pulled the elastic waistband in the front of [Defendant's underpants and observed a crumpled five dollar bill and a metal crack pipe. These items were inside [Defendant\u2019s underpants at approximately the level of [Defendant\u2019s pubic hairline.\n22. Detective Curl reached into [Defendant\u2019s underpants and removed these items. ...\n23. Detective Curl also pulled the rear elastic band of . . . [Defendant's underpants and visually examined [Defendant's buttocks area[.]\n25. All of this activity took place during daylight hours.\nWe hold these findings demonstrate that the scope of the intrusion relative to Defendant\u2019s person was great, as any reasonable person would have found it to be a humiliating experience far beyond that incident to an arrest and search of Defendant\u2019s outer garments alone. Redding,-U.S. at-, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 364 (\u201cThe very fact of [the female student\u2019s] pulling her underwear away from her body in the presence of the two officials who were able to see her necessarily exposed her breasts and pelvic area to some degree, and both subjective and reasonable societal expectations of personal privacy support the treatment of such a search as categorically distinct, requiring distinct elements of justification on the part of school authorities for going beyond a search of outer clothing and belongings.\u201d).\nWhether anyone other than Detective Curl actually saw Defendant\u2019s private parts during the search is irrelevant to the Fourth Amendment analysis in this regard.\nAlthough [the two female school officials] stated that they did not see anything when [the female student] followed their instructions [by pulling the top of her underwear away from her body], we would not define strip search and its Fourth Amendment consequences in a way that would guarantee litigation about who was looking and how much was seen.\nId.\nB. The Manner in Which the Search was Conducted\nIn its findings of fact, the trial court stated the following relevant facts in addition to those stated above:\n15. Detective Curl, who is female, then escorted [Defendant to the passenger side of the police vehicle. The police vehicle was a Chevy Tahoe sports utility vehicle with darkly tinted windows. Detective Curl had [Defendant stand between the open passenger side front and rear doors, and Detective Curl positioned herself so that [Defendant was between the detective and the vehicle.\n24. At no time did Detective Curl lower [Defendant's underpants.\n25. ... Slightly to the front of the vehicle was a nursing home. Across the street on the driver\u2019s side of the police vehicle were several homes with occupants on the porch. During the course of the activity described herein five or six other vehicles passed on the road. There is no evidence that any person, other than Detective Curl, viewed the search or would have been able to view the search of [Defendant because of the way the police vehicle was positioned with the doors open on either side and with Detective Curl\u2019s body shielding any possible view from the fourth side.\nWe further find that there was uncontested evidence that we factor into our analysis. See Johnston, 115 N.C. App. at 713-14, 446 S.E.2d at 137. Detective Curl was not wearing gloves at the time of the search, and Detective Curl reached into Defendant\u2019s underpants with her bare hand. Two additional officers responded that day, and at least one of these, a male, was at the scene at the time of the search. Further, Detective Dickerson stood in close proximity to Defendant during the search with a Taser at the ready.\nWe find that the trial court\u2019s statement that there was \u201cno evidence that any person viewed the search or would have been able to view the search\u201d is not supported by the record evidence. Defendant testified at the hearing, and her testimony was that pedestrians and passing cars could see her while the search was being conducted. Because it is the province of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses and the testimony, we will assume the trial court\u2019s finding to mean that it determined, from the evidence presented, that Detective Curl conducted the search in a manner which shielded Defendant\u2019s mid-section from public view. We find that Detective Curl made honest attempts to protect Defendant\u2019s privacy during the search. However, we again reiterate that whether or not others were actually able to view Defendant\u2019s private parts does not automatically render a roadside strip search reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Redding,-U.S. at \u2014 , 174 L. Ed. 2d at 364.\nC. The Justification for Initiating the Search\nDefendant has not preserved on appeal her argument that there was no probable cause to arrest her. Therefore, for the purposes of this appeal, we must assume that Detective Curl was justified in conducting a search of Defendant incident to arrest. A valid search incident to arrest, however, will not normally permit a law enforcement officer to conduct a roadside strip search. See Mary Beth G. v. Chicago, 723 F.2d 1263, 1270-71 (7th Cir. 1983) (\u201c[C]ustodial searches incident to arrest still must be reasonable ones: \u2018Holding the Warrant Clause inapplicable in the circumstances present here does not leave law enforcement officials subject to no restraints. This type of police conduct \u201cmust [still] be tested by the Fourth Amendment\u2019s general proscription against unreasonable searches and seizures.\u201d \u2019 415 U.S. at 808 n.9 (quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. at 20)\u201d); Bazy, 1994 WL 539300 at 26 (\u201cProbable cause that an arrestee is hiding something on his body does not justify conducting on a public street a strip search or some search akin to one. There must be other circumstances present which prevent an officer from waiting until the arrestee can be moved to a private location, like the station house.\u201d). In order for a roadside strip search to pass constitutional muster, there must be both probable cause and exigent circumstances that show some significant government or public interest would be endangered were the police to wait until they could conduct the search in a more discreet location \u2014 usually at a private location within a police facility. \u201c \u2018The substance of all the definitions of probable cause is a reasonable ground for belief of guilt,\u2019 and . . . the belief of guilt must be particularized with respect to the person to be searched or seized[.]\u201d Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366, 371, 157 L. Ed. 2d 769, 775 (2003) (citations omitted) (emphasis added).\n[T]he factors justifying a search of the person and personal effects of an arrestee upon reaching a police station but prior to being placed in confinement are somewhat different from the factors justifying an immediate search at the time and place of arrest.\nThe governmental interests underlying a station-house search of the arrestee\u2019s person and possessions may in some circumstances be even greater than those supporting a search immediately following arrest. Consequently, the scope of a station-house search will often vary from that made at the time of arrest. Police conduct that would be impractical or unreasonable \u2014 or embarrassingly intrusive \u2014 on the street can more readily \u2014 and privately\u2014 be performed at the station. For example, the interests supporting a search incident to arrest would hardly justify disrobing an arrestee on the street, but the practical necessities of routine jail administration may even justify taking a prisoner\u2019s clothes before confining him, although that step would be rare.\nIllinois v. Lafayette, 462 U.S. 640, 645, 77 L. Ed. 2d 65, 70-71 (1983); see also Welsh v. Wis., 466 U.S. 740, 751, 80 L. Ed. 2d 732, 744 (1984) (\u201c \u2018When an officer undertakes to act as his own magistrate, he ought to be in a position to justify it by pointing to some real immediate and serious consequences if he postponed action to get a warrant.\u2019 \u201d) (citation omitted); Id. at 752, 80 L. Ed. 2d at 745 (\u201c \u2018The [exigent-circumstances] exception is narrowly drawn to cover cases of real and not contrived emergencies.\u2019 \u201d) (citation omitted).\nIn addition to the findings of fact cited above, the trial court made these additional relevant findings:\n1. On August 31, 2007, [the detectives] received a telephone call from a confidential informant advising Detective Dickerson that later that afternoon three individuals identified as Glenn Murfree, Antonio Evans, and [Defendant] would be going to Durham to make a purchase of one to one point five ounces of cocaine and returning to Oxford via Interstate 1-85. The confidential informant told Detective Dickerson that these three individuals would be driving a green Oldsmobile belonging to Mr. Murfree\u2019s father and that they would be exiting 1-85 at the Linden Road ramp.\nThe trial court also found the following: The detectives were experienced officers with special drug training, and that Detective Dickerson was familiar with the confidential informant, who had provided reliable information on numerous occasions in the past that had led to at least thirty arrests. The detectives stationed themselves in a position to observe the relevant exit ramp from 1-85 onto Linden Road, and observed a green Oldsmobile proceed down that ramp and pull into a nearby gas station and convenience store. The Oldsmobile was occupied by Murfree, Evans and Defendant. After the Oldsmobile left the gas station parking lot, the detectives followed it and eventually activated their blue lights and stopped the vehicle. The detectives approached the Oldsmobile and requested Murfree\u2019s driver\u2019s license and registration, which Murfree provided. Detective Curl asked Murfree to exit the Oldsmobile, and when Murfree complied, Detective Curl noticed \u201cat least fifty small plastic baggies in the driver door storage compartment.\u201d Detective Curl \u201crecognized the plastic baggies as those used by drug dealers for packaging heroin or crack cocaine for individual sale.\u201d Detective Dickerson searched Murfree, but found no weapons or other contraband. Upon asking Defendant to pull out her bra and shake it, a package of cigarette rolling papers fell to the ground from inside Defendant\u2019s shirt. Detective Curl then searched Defendant. When Detective Curl \u201creached to unbutton [DJefendant\u2019s pants . . . [DJefendant also reached down towards her pants. After informing [Defendant to stop reaching, [DJefendant attempted twice more to reach towards her pants.\u201d Detective Curl \u201cperceived the repeated attempts by [DJefendant to reach into her pants to be an indication that contraband was likely secreted inside her pants.\u201d Detective Curl believed from her training and experience that people hiding drugs often hid them in \u201ctheir pants or crotch area and that males involved in drug crimes often have female accomplices carry [the drugs] in their crotch area based on the belief that should apprehension occur, it is generally less likely that female officers would be available to search female suspects.\u201d\nThe trial court relied upon the information provided by the confidential informant, which was for the most part corroborated by the subsequent actions of Murfree, Evans and Defendant, as part of the basis for its conclusion that the search of Defendant was reasonable under the circumstances. The trial court also relied upon the following conclusion:\nIn this instance the detectives had a reasonable basis for believing that contraband was hidden in [DJefendant\u2019s crotch area. This belief was founded upon the training and experience of the officers. The fact that rolling papers had been secreted in [DJefendant\u2019s bra and fell out when shaken and that [DJefendant had made several attempts to reach into her pants immediately prior to being searched].\nWe do not find the trial court\u2019s conclusion on this issue to be fully supported by its findings of fact. First, though there was evidence to support the trial court\u2019s finding of fact that rolling papers fell from Defendant\u2019s shirt when she was shaking her bra, this evidence came from the testimony of Defendant herself. Detective Curl testified that nothing fell from Defendant\u2019s shirt when Defendant shook her bra, and neither Detective Curl\u2019s nor Detective Dickerson\u2019s testimony included mention of any rolling papers. Therefore, there was no testimony from either detective supporting the trial court\u2019s conclusion that the rolling papers served as a basis for \u201cbelieving that contraband was hidden in ... [DJefendant\u2019s crotch area.\u201d Further, there was nothing that occurred at the scene of the search to indicate that these papers were for the purpose of smoking marijuana. No marijuana was found on Defendant, in the Oldsmobile, or anywhere at the scene. There was no testimony that any officer smelled the odor of marijuana. Nor was there any evidence that suggested that anyone had used marijuana prior to the search. Rolling papers alone do not constitute contraband, as they are legal to purchase, legal to carry, and legal to use for tobacco smoking. Second, the trial court found as fact that Defendant on three occasions \u201creached down towards her pants.\u201d The trial court did not find as fact that Defendant \u201cmade several attempts to reach into her pants.\u201d The uncontroverted testimony of Detective Curl was that when Detective Curl first attempted to unzip Defendant\u2019s pants, Defendant \u201creached down to her pants . . . like she was gon\u2019 go inside the top of her pants.\u201d Detective Curl then said to Defendant \u201clet me do this. And again ... I reached to grab again, she reached down again. I told her a second time, no, let me do this.\u201d Then Detective Curl called Detective Dickerson over with the Taser, and on her third attempt, Detective Curl was able to unzip Defendant\u2019s pants and conduct the search without interference from Defendant. The evidence supports that Defendant twice reached towards the top of her pants as Detective Curl was attempting to unzip Defendant\u2019s pants, and that, according to Detective Curl, Defendant\u2019s actions were \u201clike\u201d Defendant was \u201cgoing to go inside the top of her pants.\u201d We take judicial notice of the fact that Defendant\u2019s action \u2014 reaching towards the top front of her pants \u2014 was also consistent with a person who is about to have her pants unzipped by a stranger. State v. Stone, 362 N.C. 50, 55, 653 S.E.2d 414, 418 (2007).\nWe hold that the trial court\u2019s findings of fact do not support its conclusion of law that Defendant \u201cmade several attempts to reach into her pants[,]\u201d as this conclusion calls for speculation on Defendant\u2019s intent that cannot be determined from the record evidence. See State v. Coley, 193 N.C. App. 458, 483, 668 S.E.2d 46, 62 (2008); see also Fuller, 950 F.2d at 1446 (\u201cThe fundamental question under the fourth amendment is whether \u2018the grounds for a search . . . satisfy objective standards\u2019 of reasonableness. Torres v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 442 U.S. 465, 471, 61 L. Ed. 2d 1[, 8], 99 S. Ct. 2425[, 2429] (1979) (emphasis added).\u201d). The fact that contraband was in fact found in Defendant\u2019s underwear did nothing to support Detective Curl\u2019s strip search of Defendant. Prior to completing the strip search, Detective Curl could only speculate as to the motive for Defendant\u2019s reaction to the attempt to unzip her pants pursuant to the strip search. Coley, 193 N.C. App. at 483, 668 S.E.2d at 62.\nMore relevant to our analysis, Defendant\u2019s reaction to Detective Curl\u2019s attempts to unzip her pants was not, as the trial court stated, \u201cimmediately prior to [Defendant\u2019s] being search[ed].\u201d At the time Defendant reached towards the top of her pants, Detective Curl had already initiated the strip search, as she was in the process of attempting to unzip Defendant\u2019s pants. Defendant\u2019s actions during the strip search cannot retroactively serve as a basis for justifying that strip search. For a search to comply with the requirements of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, there must be sufficient supporting facts and exigent circumstances prior to initiating a strip search to justify this heightened intrusion into a suspect\u2019s right to privacy. The trial court\u2019s findings of fact contain nothing that suggests Defendant was acting suspiciously before the strip search. The testimony of the detectives at the hearing was that Defendant was quiet and completely cooperative until Detective Curl began the strip search.\nThe trial court made no findings of fact or conclusions of law regarding any exigent circumstances that existed warranting the roadside strip search of Defendant. When asked why he stood next to Defendant holding a Taser during the strip search, Detective Dickerson replied: \u201cNot knowing if [Defendant] was going to actively resist and if she had a weapon or anything of that nature on her person. At this time we didn\u2019t know that she had any drugs on her or not. It could have been a weapon.\u201d Detective Curl had already conducted the normal search incident to arrest, manual inspection over the top of Defendant\u2019s clothing, as well as reaching inside Defendant\u2019s pockets, without discovering anything suspicious. At the time Detective Curl initiated the strip search, there were no reasonable grounds to believe Defendant was concealing any weapon. There was no testimony indicating a belief that if Defendant was actually concealing drugs, that she was in a position to destroy or further hide that evidence. The record shows that the strip search was conducted on the mere possibility that drugs would be found on Defendant\u2019s person, based upon the confidential informant\u2019s tip. This fails to meet constitutional muster. Schmerber, 384 U.S. at 769-70, 16 L. Ed. 2d at 919. Murfree, and possibly Evans, had already been searched and no contraband had been recovered. The Oldsmobile had been searched, and other than the suspicious plastic bags, nothing had been recovered. Murfree\u2019s father was allowed to retrieve the Oldsmobile from the site of the stop that same afternoon.\nD. The Place in which the Strip Search was Conducted\n\u201cThe reasonableness of any particular governmental activity does not necessarily or invariably turn on the existence of alternative \u2018less intrusive\u2019 means.\u201d Lafayette, 462 U.S. at 647, 77 L. Ed. 2d at 72 (holding that police practice of searching all containers carried by an arrestee upon entering a police station is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment even if less intrusive means were available). This does not mean, however, that the availability of less intrusive means play no role in the determination of the constitutionality of the scope of a search. The Lafayette Court illustrated this point in a way relevant to this case as already quoted above: \u201cthe interests supporting a search incident to arrest would hardly justify disrobing an arrestee on the street.\u201d Id. at 645, 77 L. Ed. 2d at 71.\nDefendant was strip searched on the side of a street in broad daylight. There were vehicles driving by, people on their front porches, and a nursing home \u201cslightly to the front of the vehiclef.]\u201d Two male officers were present as the strip search was conducted by Detective Curl. \u201c[W]e would not define strip search and its Fourth Amendment consequences in a way that would guarantee litigation about who was looking and how much was seen.\u201d Redding, \u2014\u2022 U.S. at-, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 364. Though the trial court failed to include any findings of fact concerning the availability of less intrusive options for conducting the strip search, the record evidence is uncontroverted that the strip search was conducted right next to a large sports utility vehicle with \u201cdarkly tinted windows.\u201d See United States v. Dorlouis, 107 F.3d 248, 256 (4th Cir. 1997) (\u201cThe officers knew that Moore had earlier that evening given $1,600 in marked money to [the defendants]. When all four of the [defendants] were searched and the money was not found, the decision was made to search the clothing of each of the [defendants]. [Defendant] Jacques Paul was placed in the jump seat of a police van, his trousers were pulled down and the $1,600 in marked money fell out. His boxer shorts were not removed. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the search in question was not an unconstitutional strip search. The search did not occur on the street subject to public viewing but took place in the privacy of the police van.\u201d). The State presented no evidence that an immediate roadside strip search of Defendant was necessary, nor that there were no more suitable locations nearby. See State v. Darden, 1999 Ohio App. LEXIS 5548, 16 (Ohio Ct. App., Montgomery County Nov. 24, 1999) (unpublished opinion) (\u201c[T]he search had taken place in a men\u2019s restroom, where only the officers and sergeant involved in the traffic stop had been present. Further, Officer Bergman testified that during the strip search, he had secured the door to assure that no one could have walked in while the search was in progress.\u201d); see also United States v. Williams, 477 F.3d 974, 977 (8th Cir. 2007). Detective Dickerson testified that the police station was at most a five minute drive away. See Bazy, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14165 at 26 (\u201cProbable cause that an arrestee is hiding something on his body does not justify conducting on a public street a strip search or some search akin to one. There must be other circumstances present which prevent an officer from waiting until the arrestee can be moved to a private location, like the station house.\u201d); see also United States v. Murray, 22 F.3d 1185 (D.C. Cir.1994).\nIV.\nHaving examined the trial court\u2019s findings of fact and the uncontested evidence from the suppression hearing in light of the standard set forth in Wolfish, 441 U.S. at 559, 60 L. Ed. 2d at 481, we must now determine if the particular facts of this case demonstrate that Detective Curl violated Defendant\u2019s Fourth Amendment rights by conducting the strip search in light of all the surrounding circumstances. Skinner, 489 U.S. at 619, 103 L. Ed. 2d at 661.\nOur Supreme Court has upheld a roadside strip search based in large part upon the reasoning in Bazy. State v. Smith, 342 N.C. 407, 464 S.E.2d 45 (1995) (Smith II), adopting the dissent in State v. Smith, 118 N.C. App. 106, 454 S.E.2d 680 (1995) (Smith I, and in conjunction with our Supreme Court\u2019s adoption of the dissent in Smith I, Smith). We therefore find it useful to compare the facts and circumstances of Bazy to those in this case. The court in Bazy went to great lengths to elucidate its understanding that a roadside strip search is justified only in the most unusual of circumstances. Bazy, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14165 at 8-26 (see, e.g., \u201cBecause they are a serious intrusion into an individual\u2019s privacy, strip searches are justified in only certain circumstances and rarely, if ever, justified in public. Searches akin to strip searches can be justified in public places if limited in scope and required by unusual circumstances.\u201d Id. at 24.).\nIn Bazy, the United States District Court of Kansas found the following relevant facts: (1) The defendant was in lawful custody and probable cause existed for the defendant\u2019s arrest and a search incident to arrest. (2) Police canines trained in detecting controlled substances had indicated an interest in certain areas of the vehicle from which the defendant had been removed. (3) There had been sufficient time before the defendant had been removed from the vehicle for him to hide on his person any contraband that might have been in the vehicle. (4) During a pat-down search, troopers had found a large \u201cwad of small plastic bags.\u201d (5) \u201cThe troopers later found in the defendant Bazy\u2019s pants leg two blocks of a substance appearing to be crack cocaine.\u201d (6) \u201cThe troopers observed the defendant Bazy to continue squirming in apparent discomfort from sitting on something.\u201d Id. at 18-19. Based upon this evidence, the Bazy Court determined that probable cause existed for the troopers to believe that \u201cBazy was secreting drugs on his body[,]\u201d and further determined that the \u201ccircumstances of this case plainly amount to a fair possibility that additional crack cocaine [other than that recovered from Bazy\u2019s pants leg] would be found on the defendant Bazy\u2019s body.\u201d Id.\nThe Bazy Court was particularly concerned with whether exigent circumstances warranted the search conducted. \u201cThe more difficult question is what exigent circumstance [s] justifie[d] conducting the search without a warrant. The court believes there are two circumstances coming together to constitute an emergency.\u201d Id. at 19. The Bazy Court first determined that the facts demonstrated a real possibility that the defendants had the intent and the potential to dispose of contraband.\nThe first is the imminent destruction of evidence. Based upon the crack cocaine found in the defendant Bazy\u2019s pants leg, the troopers knew the drugs had been packaged in small amounts making them readily concealable and disposable. A trooper could have reasonably appreciated that the defendants, by concealing the drugs on their bodies, were able and awaiting the chance to dispose of it surreptiously. The reasonableness of this apprehension is proved first by the fact that the defendant Parker, while handcuffed, was able to remove one block from his body and to throw it under the patrol car. More proof is that the defendant Bazy had worked two of the blocks down his pants leg putting them in a position where he could shake and kick them away if the opportunity presented itself. There is also the likelihood that the defendants were squirming or moving in an effort to push the drugs deeper between the buttocks to avoid detection. The troopers appreciated these risks as shown in their warnings to the defendants to sit still.\nId. at 19-20. The second exigent circumstance found by the Bazy Court was the potential serious health risk to Bazy, specifically, the risk that were Bazy to manage to push crack cocaine into his rectum, he would be at a high risk of an overdose.\nThe other exigent circumstance is the health risk to the defendant. The troopers observed that Bazy appeared to be squirming in discomfort. The troopers suspected that the defendants may have hastily concealed the drugs on their bodies upon seeing the patrol car. A trooper could reasonably infer from this situation that the defendants did not anticipate carrying the drags in their underwear or rectum and, thus, did not package the drugs so as to protect themselves. Based on these two circumstances together, the court believes an emergency existed which justified proceeding with the immediate roadside search without a warrant.\nId. at 20-21; see also In re I.R.T., 184 N.C. App. 579, 587, 647 S.E.2d 129, 136 (2007) (\u201c[E]xigent circumstances are also apparent in this case: Juvenile had drags in his mouth and could have swallowed them, destroying the evidence or harming himself.\u201d).\nThe State presented no evidence of exigent circumstances in the case before us. One can speculate that Detective Curl was concerned that contraband might somehow be lost or destroyed absent the strip search, but this is always a potential issue when an arrest is made based upon suspected drag activity. Were we to hold that the facts and circumstances surrounding this case warrant a finding of exigent circumstances justifying a strip search, we would effectively be holding that exigent circumstances are established to justify roadside strip searches, per se, as long as police officers have probable cause to suspect drug activity. This was certainly not the holding in Bazy, and does not comport with established law that the State has the burden of proving a search did not violate a suspect\u2019s constitutional rights, Gibson, 32 N.C. App. at 586, 233 S.E.2d at 86, that per se rules are not appropriate when conducting Fourth Amendment analysis, Stone, 362 N.C. at 56-57, 653 S.E.2d at 419, and that the\ntest of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is not capable of precise definition or mechanical application. In each case it requires a balancing of the need for the particular search against the invasion of personal rights that the search entails. Courts must consider the scope of the particular intrusion, the manner in which it is conducted, the justification for initiating it, and the place in which it is conducted.\nWolfish, 441 U.S. at 559, 60 L. Ed. 2d at 481.\nA very recent United States Supreme Court opinion, Redding, supra, is helpful in our analysis, particularly because it was filed after all the previous authority cited, and after the authority cited in the State\u2019s brief. Redding involved what the United States Supreme Court effectively termed a strip search of Savana, a thirteen-year-old student, by school officials. The Redding Court\nrecognized that the school setting \u201crequires some modification of the level of suspicion of illicit activity needed to justify a search,\u201d and held that for searches by school officials \u201ca careful balancing of governmental and private interests suggests that the public interest is best served by a Fourth Amendment standard of reasonableness that stops short of probable cause[.]\u201d We have thus applied a standard of reasonable suspicion to determine the legality of a school administrator\u2019s search of a student, and have held that a school search \u201cwill be permissible in its scope when the measures adopted are reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the infraction[.]\u201d\nRedding,-U.S. at-, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 361 (citations to New Jersey v. T. L. O., 469 U.S. 325, 83 L. Ed. 2d 720 (1985) omitted). Thus, in a school setting, reasonable suspicion, not probable cause, is the standard applied. In Redding, the assistant principal of the school, Kerry Wilson (Wilson), summoned Savana to his office where he presented Savana with a day planner containing \u201cseveral knives, lighters,... and a cigarette.\u201d Redding,-U.S. at-, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 360. Savana stated the day planner was hers, but that she had lent it to her friend, Marissa Glines (Glines) a few days prior, and that none of the items were hers. Id. Wilson then produced four prescription strength ibuprofen pills and one over-the-counter pill intended for pain relief and inflamation. All of these pills were considered contraband on school property without advance permission. Upon questioning, Savana denied knowledge of the pills. Id.\nWilson then told Savana that he had received a report that she was giving these pills to fellow students; Savana denied it and agreed to let Wilson search her belongings. Helen Romero, an administrative assistant, came into the office, and together with Wilson they searched Savana\u2019s backpack, finding nothing.\nAt that point, Wilson instructed Romero to take Savana to the school nurse\u2019s office to search her clothes for pills. Romero and the nurse, Peggy Schwallier, asked Savana to remove her jacket, socks, and shoes, leaving her in stretch pants and a T-shirt (both without pockets), which she was then asked to remove. Finally, Savana was told to pull her bra out and to the side and shake it, and to pull out the elastic on her underpants, thus exposing her breasts and pelvic area to some degree. No pills were found.\nId. Wilson had obtained plenary evidence from other students that supported a reasonable suspicion that Savana might be possessing or dealing in contraband. Id. at-, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 362-63.\nThis suspicion of Wilson\u2019s was enough to justify a search of Savana\u2019s backpack and outer clothing. If a student is reasonably suspected of giving out contraband pills, she is reasonably suspected of carrying them on her person and in the carryall that has become an item of student uniform in most places today. If Wilson\u2019s reasonable suspicion of pill distribution were not understood to support searches of outer clothes and backpack, it would not justify any search worth making. And the look into Savana\u2019s bag, in her presence and in the relative privacy of Wilson\u2019s office, was not excessively intrusive, any more than Romero\u2019s subsequent search of her outer clothing.\nId. at -, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 363. However, the Redding Court determined: \u201cHere, the content of the suspicion failed to match the degree of intrusion.\u201d Id. at -, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 364. The Redding Court first noted that the contraband involved, while potentially dangerous, was not as dangerous as other drugs. Id. at-, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 364-65.\nNor could Wilson have suspected that Savana was hiding common painkillers in her underwear. Petitioners suggest, as a truth universally acknowledged, that \u201cstudents . . . hid[e] contraband in or under their clothing,\u201d and cite a smattering of cases of students with contraband in their underwear[.] But when the categorically extreme intrusiveness of a search down to the body of an adolescent requires some justification in suspected facts, general background possibilities fall short; a reasonable search that extensive calls for suspicion that it will pay off. But nondangerous school contraband does not raise the specter of stashes in intimate places, and there is no evidence in the record of any general practice among Safford Middle School students of hiding that sort of thing in underwear; neither [of the students who provided evidence against Savana] suggested to Wilson that Savana was doing that, and the preceding search of Marissa that Wilson ordered [a strip search identical to the one Savana was subjected to] yielded nothing.\nId. at \u2014\u2022, 174 L. Ed. 2d at 365. The Redding Court then emphasized:\nWe ... mean ... to make it clear that the T. L. O. concern to limit a school search to reasonable scope requires the support of reasonable suspicion of danger or of resort to underwear for hiding evidence of wrongdoing before a search can reasonably make the quantum leap from outer clothes and backpacks to exposure of intimate parts. The meaning of such a search, and the degradation its subject may reasonably feel, place a search that intrusive in a category of its own demanding its own specific suspicions.\nId.\nWe recognize that the case before us is lacking the element of the young age of the person searched that is part of the analysis in Redding. We also recognize that the suspected drug, cocaine, involved in the case before us is inherently more dangerous than the drugs- involved in Redding. However, we take from Redding that there must be more than the mere possibility that a female suspect could be hiding contraband in her underwear, such as Detective Curl\u2019s testimony that drugs are often hidden there, in order to justify an intrusion of the magnitude of a strip search. In Redding, there was a lower standard involved \u2014 reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause \u2014 and the strip search of Savana, in which she pulled her bra away from her body and shook it, and pulled her underwear away from her body as well, was conducted by a female nurse and another female school official in a private room. In neither case was there any evidence prior to the strip search that the suspect was, in fact, hiding contraband in her underwear.\nOur Supreme Court has held unconstitutional a strip search similar to the one conducted in this case based upon its finding that the search went beyond the scope of the consent the defendant had given the officers. Stone, 362 N.C. 50, 653 S.E.2d 414. Because the search in Stone was initiated pursuant to the defendant\u2019s consent, the holding in Stone does not control the outcome of this case. Some of the analysis in Stone, however, is applicable to the facts involved here. The Stone Court dismissed the argument put forth by the State, and the dissent from our Court, that because \u201cin a search for drugs, a suspect could reasonably expect some search of his genital area, such as \u2018a continuous sweeping motion over [the suspect\u2019s] outer garments [,]\u2019 \u201d id. at 55, 653 S.E.2d at 418 (citation omitted), \u201cthat such touching is no less intrusive than the flashlight-illuminated visual search conducted [in Stone].\u201d Id. Our Supreme Court held that the visual inspection of the defendant\u2019s genitals was more intrusive than a pat-down search over the genital region, stating: \u201cAlthough these events occurred at 3:30 a.m., the search occurred in the parking lot of an apartment complex, as opposed to a secluded area or police station. Both Officers . . . were present during the search.\u201d Id. at 56, 653 S.E.2d at 419. The Stone Court differentiated the facts in its case from those in Smith, supra, \u201cwhere the officers had specific information that cocaine was hidden in the defendant\u2019s crotch.\u201d Stone, 362 N.C. at 56, 653 S.E.2d at 419 (citations omitted).\nSmith represents the only North Carolina opinion dealing with a probable cause roadside strip search. In overturning our Court\u2019s holding that the search in Smith violated the Fourth Amendment, our Supreme Court adopted the dissent in Smith I without further opinion. Smith II, 342 N.C. 407, 464 S.E.2d 45.\nIn Stone, our Supreme Court explained its holding in Smith in the following fashion:\nAlthough the defendant in Smith did not give consent, the officers had probable cause and exigent circumstances, as well as a specific tip from an informant that defendant \u201cwould have the cocaine concealed in his crotch or under his crotch.\u201d This Court reversed the Court of Appeals for the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion, holding that the scope of the search was not unreasonable.\nStone, 362 N.C. at 54, 653 S.E.2d at 417 (internal citations omitted) (emphasis added).\nIn Smith, evidence was presented at the suppression hearing that the arresting officer (Officer Cook) knew the defendant, and had worked in the relevant area of Fayetteville for several years and knew it to be an area with high drug activity. Officer Cook had been informed numerous times from different sources that the defendant was operating a drug house and selling drugs in that area. Confidential sources had informed Officer Cook that the defendant operated multiple drug houses, and gave Officer Cook a large quantity of information concerning the defendant\u2019s actions and methods of operation. Officer Cook received a call on 12 May 1992 at 12:15 a.m. from a confidential informant who had proved reliable in the past, and whose information had led to two arrests. The confidential informant told Officer Cook that the defendant was carrying approximately $2,000.00, was driving a red Ford Escort with license plate EVN7322, and was en route to purchase cocaine. The confidential informant informed Officer Cook that upon returning from the purchase, the defendant would be going to Apartment 617-D Johnson Street, which the confidential informant described as the last apartment on the left. The confidential informant also told Officer Cook that the defendant would package the cocaine in aluminum foil while at the apartment, then go to a house on Buffalo Street off of Bragg Boulevard to deliver the cocaine for sale. The confidential informant stated when the defendant \u201cdeparted [617-D] Johnson Street that he would have the cocaine concealed in his crotch, or under his crotch.\u201d Smith I, 118 N.C. App. at 107-08, 454 S.E.2d at 681-82.\nOfficer Cook picked up his partner and the confidential informant, and headed to Johnson Street. The confidential informant pointed out the apartment and the red Escort with license plate number EVN7322, and said that the defendant would be leaving the apartment soon. The officers, with the confidential informant, followed the red Escort for a distance, then activated their blue lights and stopped the defendant. The officers then conducted a search of the defendant, at approximately 1:30 a.m., which involved shining a flashlight on the defendant\u2019s private parts, and reaching underneath the defendant\u2019s scrotum to retrieve what was later confirmed to be cocaine. Id. at 108-09, 454 S.E.2d at 682. The trial court made findings of fact in support of this evidence. Id. at 110-11, 454 S.E.2d at 683.\nThe facts in the case before us are distinguishable from those in Smith. Perhaps most importantly, the reliable confidential informant in Smith not only provided very specific evidence concerning what the defendant\u2019s actions would be, most of which were verified by the officers before the defendant was stopped, the confidential informant specifically stated that the defendant would be hiding the cocaine in the defendant\u2019s underpants, and perhaps underneath the defendant\u2019s scrotum. Officer Cook had multiple sources indicating that the defendant was a serious drug dealer, and operated out of multiple locations. The search took place in the early morning hours, approximately 1:30 a.m., and nothing in Smith indicates that there were other people in the immediate vicinity other than the officers.\nThe search in the case before us was conducted in daylight, on a street with both pedestrians and vehicles in the immediate vicinity. No evidence was presented at the hearing, and thus no findings of fact were made, that the detectives had any evidence other than the confidential informant\u2019s tip that Defendant had ever been involved in any drug activity whatsoever. There was no evidence presented that Detective Curl knew Defendant to have any prior history of purchasing drugs or drug use, much less drug sales. Detective Curl testified that there was not any specific information concerning who in the vehicle might have the drugs. Though the confidential informant\u2019s tip was confirmed in many aspects before the strip search, no drugs were found in the Oldsmobile or on Murfree, the main focus of the detectives. Most importantly, the confidential informant provided no information that Defendant would have drugs on her person, much less hidden in her underwear. Stone, 362 N.C. at 54, 653 S.E.2d at 417; see also Murray, 22 F.3d 1185; Starks, 6 F.Supp.2d 1084; Bazy, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14165; People v. Jones, 3 Misc. 3d 481 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2004).\nV.\nWe hold that the facts and circumstances in this case are distinguishable from those in Smith. Were we to uphold the strip search on the facts and circumstances of this case, we would be expanding the authority of the police to conduct roadside strip searches beyond what was allowed in Smith. In light of precedent set by the United States Supreme Court and our appellate courts, and our analysis of the opinions from other jurisdictions involving the Fourth Amendment rights implicated in this case, we believe Defendant\u2019s Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the strip search in this case. The scope of the intrusion was great, the manner in which it was conducted was inappropriate in light of the circumstances, the justification for initiating it was slight, and the place in which it was conducted was one likely to increase the humiliation suffered by Defendant as a result of the strip search.\nThe trial court made no findings of fact or conclusions of law concerning the necessity of conducting the strip search at that time and at that location. Phrased another way, there is nothing in the trial court\u2019s order stating that there were exigent circumstances justifying any search more intrusive than that allowed incident to any arrest. The lack of findings or conclusions on this matter alone require vacating the trial court\u2019s order. See State v. Coplen, 138 N.C. App. 48, 52-58, 530 S.E.2d 313, 317-20 (2000); see also Paulino v. State, 924 A.2d 308, 319 (Md. 2007); State v. Walker, 1998 Ohio App. LEXIS 3466, 23-24 (unpublished opinion). Upon reading the suppression hearing testimony, the lack of findings and conclusions on this matter are understandable. The State presented no evidence of exigent circumstances at the hearing.\nThere was no testimony at the suppression hearing in the case sub judice, that [the defendant] was attempting to destroy evidence, nor that he possessed a weapon such that an exigency was created that would have required the police officers to search [the defendant] at that precise moment and under the circumstances[.]\nPaulino, 924 A.2d at 319.\nWithout the constitutional safeguards of exigent circumstances and reasonableness, every search incident could result in a strip search. As we have said, \u201c[t]he meaning of exigent circumstances is that the police are confronted with an emergency\u2014 circumstances so imminent that they present an urgent and compelling need for police action.\u201d\nId. at 315 (citation omitted). The stop initiated upon the tip provided by the confidential informant in this case is about as run-of-the-mill as can be imagined. Were we to affirm the order of the trial court, we would in effect sanction a per se rule that roadside strip searches of suspects are allowed as long as a reliable informant has provided information sufficient to give rise to probable cause that a suspect is carrying contraband, so long as some measures are taken to shield the suspect\u2019s private parts from public view. \u201cStrip searches . . . are not a matter of course for searches incident either to arrest or detention.\u201d Bazy, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14165 at 14. \u201cThis court shares the same reluctance and concern expressed above by the circuit court [concerning] such searches. Public intrusive searches of the body should never be commonplace but reserved for only the most unusual cases.\u201d Id. at 25-26.\nWe find the great weight of authority supports our holding that the roadside strip search of Defendant in this case constituted a violation of Defendant\u2019s Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. We therefore vacate the order of the trial court denying Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress, and remand to the trial court for entry of an order granting Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress, and hereby grant Defendant a new trial.\nVacated and remanded; new trial.\nJudge JACKSON concurs in the result only.\nJudge STEELMAN concurs with a separate opinion.\n. Detective Dickerson initially testified that the informant had told him Murfree would be purchasing heroin, but when shown the police report he had filed which indicated the informant had told Detective Dickerson Murfree would be purchasing cocaine, Detective Dickerson stated, \u201cI stand corrected.\u201d\n. The trial court referred to these as \u201crolling papers used to roll marijuana cigarettes[.]\u201d", "type": "majority", "author": "McGEE, Judge." }, { "text": "STEELMAN, Judge,\nconcurring.\nIn the case of State v. Stone, 362 N.C. 50, 653 S.E.2d 414 (2007), our Supreme Court held that a less-intrusive search, conducted with at least questionable consent, was not permissible under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Because the instant search was more intrusive than that in Stone, with no consent, it was not permissible under the Fourth Amendment.", "type": "concurrence", "author": "STEELMAN, Judge," } ], "attorneys": [ "Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General John G. Barnwell, for the State.", "Sofie W. Hosford for Defendant." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. KIM HESTER BATTLE, Defendant-Appellant\nNo. COA09-201\n(Filed 16 February 2010)\n1. Search and Seizure\u2014 probable cause \u2014 motion to suppress\nDefendant\u2019s argument that the trial court erred in denying her motion to suppress evidence discovered as the result of a strip search because the officer lacked probable cause to conduct the search was overruled. Defendant\u2019s argument contained multiple violations of the rules of appellate procedure and was subject to dismissal. Furthermore, even if defendant\u2019s argument had been that the search exceeded the scope of the stop, and that argument was properly before the Court, that fact would not serve as a basis upon which to find error with the trial court\u2019s order, as the trial court based its order on its determination that probable cause existed.\n2. Search and Seizure\u2014 strip search \u2014 Fourth Amendment violation \u2014 motion to suppress\nThe trial court erred in denying' defendant\u2019s motion to suppress evidence found as a result of a road-side strip search, during which a police officer unbuttoned, unzipped, and lowered defendant\u2019s pants, pulled the waistband of defendant\u2019s underpants out, and reached into her underpants to retrieve contraband. The search violated defendant\u2019s Fourth Amendment rights as it was an unnecessary intrusion into defendant\u2019s privacy and was unreasonable under the totality of the circumstances. There was nothing in the trial court\u2019s order stating that there were exigent circumstances justifying the search.\nJudge STEELMAN concurs with a separate opinion.\nAppeal by Defendant from judgment entered 7 October 2008 by Judge Paul C. Ridgeway in Superior Court, Granville County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 2 September 2009.\nAttorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General John G. Barnwell, for the State.\nSofie W. Hosford for Defendant." }, "file_name": "0376-01", "first_page_order": 404, "last_page_order": 432 }