§ 15A-291. Application for electronic surveillance order; judicial review panel.
§ 15A‑291. Applicationfor electronic surveillance order; judicial review panel.
(a) The AttorneyGeneral or the Attorney General's designee may, pursuant to the provisions ofsection 2516(2) of Chapter 119 of the United States Code, apply to a judicial reviewpanel for an order authorizing or approving the interception of wire, oral, orelectronic communications by investigative or law enforcement officers havingresponsibility for the investigation of the offenses as to which theapplication is made, and for such offenses and causes as are enumerated in G.S.15A‑290. A judicial review panel shall be composed of such judges as maybe assigned by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina or anAssociate Justice acting as the Chief Justice's designee, which shall reviewapplications for electronic surveillance orders and may issue orders validthroughout the State authorizing such surveillance as provided by this Article,and which shall submit a report of its decision to the Chief Justice. A judicialreview panel may be appointed by the Chief Justice or an Associate Justiceacting as the Chief Justice's designee upon the notification of the AttorneyGeneral's Office of the intent to apply for an electronic surveillance order.
(b) A judicial reviewpanel is hereby authorized to grant orders valid throughout the State for theinterception of wire, oral, or electronic communications. Applications for suchorders may be made by the Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee.The Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee in applying for suchorders, and a judicial review panel in granting such orders, shall comply withall procedural requirements of section 2518 of Chapter 119 of the United StatesCode. The Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee may makeemergency applications as provided by section 2518 of Chapter 119 of the UnitedStates Code. In applying section 2518 the word "judge" in thatsection shall be construed to refer to the judicial review panel, unless the contextotherwise indicates. The judicial review panel may stipulate any specialconditions it feels necessary to assure compliance with the terms of this act.
(c) No judge who sitsas a member of a judicial review panel shall preside at any trial or proceedingresulting from or in any manner related to information gained pursuant to alawful electronic surveillance order issued by that panel.
(d) Each applicationfor an order authorizing or approving the interception of a wire, oral, orelectronic communication must be made in writing upon oath or affirmation tothe judicial review panel. Each application must include the followinginformation:
(1) The identity of theoffice requesting the application;
(2) A full and completestatement of the facts and circumstances relied upon by the applicant, tojustify his belief that an order should be issued, including:
a. Details as to theparticular offense that has been, or is being committed;
b. Except as providedin G.S. 15A‑294(i), a particular description of the nature and locationof the facilities from which or the place where the communication is to beintercepted;
c. A particulardescription of the type of communications sought to be intercepted; and
d. The identity of theperson, if known, committing the offense and whose communications are to beintercepted;
(3) A full and completestatement as to whether or not other investigative procedures have been triedand failed or why they reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if tried orto be too dangerous;
(4) A statement of theperiod of time for which the interception is required to be maintained. If thenature of the investigation is such that the authorization for interceptionshould not automatically terminate when the described type of communication hasbeen obtained, a particular description of facts establishing probable cause tobelieve that additional communications of the same type will occur thereaftermust be added;
(5) A full and completestatement of the facts concerning all previous applications known to theindividual authorizing and making adjudication, made to a judicial review panelfor authorization to intercept, or for approval of interceptions of wire, oral,or electronic communications involving any of the same persons, facilities, or placesspecified in the application, and the action taken by that judicial reviewpanel on each such application; and
(6) Where theapplication is for the extension of an order, a statement setting forth theresults thus far obtained from the interception, or a reasonable explanation ofthe failure to obtain such results.
(e) Before acting onthe application, the judicial review panel may examine on oath the personrequesting the application or any other person who may possess pertinentinformation, but information other than that contained in the affidavit may notbe considered by the panel in determining whether probable cause exists for theissuance of the order unless the information is either recorded orcontemporaneously summarized in the record or on the face of the order by thepanel. (1995, c.407, s. 1; 1997‑435, s. 2; 2005‑207, s. 1.)