NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1979 SESSION
RESOLUTION 54
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1330
A JOINT RESOLUTION DIRECTING THAT THE ISSUE OF SEARCHES OF
NEWSROOMS BE STUDIED.
Whereas, many of this country's great historical figures have been newspapermen,
all the way back to Peter Zenger, Thomas Paine, and Benjamin Franklin; and
Whereas, the founding fathers of this country recognized the importance of a free
press by explicitly stating that freedom in the First Amendment of the Constitution; and
Whereas, on May 31, 1978, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of
Zurcher v. The Stanford Daily in which it held that police officers may search newsrooms for
evidence, armed only with a search warrant, even if the newspaper is not itself suspected of any
criminal behavior; and
Whereas, throughout the country the Zurcher decision has been criticized as an
unwarranted intrusion on freedom of the press; and
Whereas, the United States Congress is presently debating the wisdom of legislation
to modify or reverse that decision;
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
Section 1. The Judicial Council is directed to study the issues raised by the Supreme
Court's decision in Zurcher v. The Stanford Daily dealing with searches of third parties not
suspected of criminal behavior and to report its findings and recommendations, including
recommended legislation, to the General Assembly no later than the tenth day of the 1981
Session of the General Assembly.
Sec. 2. This resolution is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 8th day of June,
1979.