2 Administration of Justice Bulletin No. 2023/01 | January 2023
© 2023. School of Government. e University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Many criminal justice reformers want no-knock warrants restricted or eliminated.
4
Some
states have taken steps in that direction,
5
and President Biden has issued an executive order
limiting the authority of federal law enforcement agencies to make no-knock entries.
6
On the
other hand, some supporters of no-knock warrants see them as vital tools for preventing the
destruction of evidence and for getting a tactical advantage over potentially dangerous suspects.
7
Critics contend that no-knock warrants are issued routinely and with little scrutiny.
8
Proponents argue that no-knock warrants are rare and carefully considered.
9
is bulletin takes a deep dive into the law and practice regarding no-knock warrants
in North Carolina. Among the conclusions are: (1) there is no explicit authority for North
Carolina judicial ocials to issue no-knock warrants; (2) judicial ocials sometimes issue such
warrants anyway; (3) no-knock warrants seem to be very rare; (4) when an application for a
no-knock warrant is granted, the resulting warrant does not always include an express judicial
determination regarding the need for a no-knock entry or an express judicial authorization of
such an entry; and (5) quick-knock entries, where ocers knock and announce their presence
and then immediately force entry, may be widespread.
4. See, e.g., John Guzman, Breonna Taylor, Amir Locke, and the Dangers of Warrant Executions,
NAACP L D. F (Mar. 18, 2022, https://www.naacpldf.org/end-no-knock-warrants/ (arguing
that ending no-knock warrants is “the bare minimum”); Campaign Zero, E A N K, https://
endallnoknocks.org/ (last visited May 5, 2022) (arguing that no-knock warrants should be banned and
that police should be required to wait at least thirty seconds after knocking and announcing to enter).
5. See infra notes 84–89 and accompanying text.
6. Executive Order on Advancing Eective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to
Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety (May 25, 2022), https://www.whitehouse.gov/brieng-room/
presidential-actions/2022/05/25/executive-order-on-advancing-eective-accountable-policing-and-
criminal-justice-practices-to-enhance-public-trust-and-public-safety/ (limiting federal agencies’ use of
no-knock warrants and requiring certain recordkeeping and reporting).
7. See, e.g., Emily R. Daniel, No Knock Warrants: Mend em, Don’t End em, M
S T., Nov. 8, 2020, https://www.startribune.com/no-knock-warrants-mend-them-don-t-end-
them/572996872/ (asserting that while “dramatic limits” on no-knock warrants are appropriate,
they “are needed in imminent danger cases”); Wesley E. Nunn, No Knock Warrants a Valuable Tool,
A J.-C., June 18, 2014, https://www.ajc.com/news/opinion/knock-warrants-valuable-
tool/Tcl4g5l8uJZgwixfhANnjJ/ (arguing that no-knock warrants are used rarely, in extraordinary
circumstances, after judicial review). Notably, the National Tactical Ocers’ Association has recently
concluded that “[n]o-knock search warrants, though well-intended, no longer pass the test of tactical
science, risk mitigation practices, and liability-conscious decision-making.” National Tactical Ocers’
Association, NTOA Releases Position Statement on No Knock Warrant Service (Feb. 25, 2022), ht tps://
www.ntoa.org/ntoa-releases-position-statement-on-no-knock-warrant-service/.
8. See, e.g., e Justice Collaborative Institute, End No-Knock Raids 2 (June 2020), https://www.
lesforprogress.org/memos/no_knock_raids.pdf (arguing that “no-knock warrants are not reserved for
the most egregious of crimes” and are often used against unarmed drug suspects); Dolan, supra note 3,
at 223 (asserting that “magistrate judges give no-knock authorization lightly and routinely”); Kevin Sack,
Door-Busting Raids Leave a Trail of Blood, N.Y. T, Mar. 18, 2017 (“e no-knock process often begins
with unreliable informants and cursory investigations that produce adavits signed by unquestioning
low-level judges.”).
9. See, e.g., John Henderson, Here’s How Often No-Knock Warrants Are Used in Fayetteville,
F O, Dec. 24, 2020 (recounting police chief’s statement that no-knock warrants have
not been used in years and that they are appropriate only in “extreme cases, such as a hostage situation in
which there is a need for stealth to avoid putting a hostage’s life in danger”); Nunn, supra note 7.