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Bob Numbers Pens Article on Constitutionality of Campus Police at Church-Affiliated Schools

May 5, 2011

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Womble Carlyle attorney Bob Numbers contributed an article on the Constitutionality of campus police on religiously-affiliated college campuses in the current issue of Docket Watch.
 
Recently, the North Carolina Court of Appeals questioned the authority of colleges with religious heritages to have campus police forces. Like many states, North Carolina allows private colleges and universities to have their own police forces, with the same powers and authority as municipal and county police officers.

In the case of State v. Yencer, a woman was arrested on drunken driving charges on the Davidson College campus. Davidson has historical ties to the Presbyterian Church, although it largely operates today as a secular institution. The woman challenged the arrest, claiming that First Amendment separation of church and state made her arrest unconstitutional, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals agreed. The N.C. Supreme Court is currently considering the case.

Bob Numbers is a business litigation attorney in Womble Carlyle’s Raleigh office and co-author of the firm's North Carolina Appellate Law Blog.

 

This document is intended as an informational reminder and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a particular situation, please contact Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP. The purpose of this article is to provide general information about significant legal developments and should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts and circumstances.