Mariana Ramos

At the end of September, a bill was passed that allocates a portion of North Carolina’s new budget to a secret police force. An investigative organization called the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations (JLCGO), will be able to investigate state and governmental agencies — including non-state agencies that are given public funds.

Republicans claimed that they created the organization to further monitor issues associated with the state’s response to hurricanes and the distribution of federal COVID-19 income. However, Democrats claim that this gives the government too much power. Officially, the organization is said to be able to investigate “possible instances of misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, mismanagement, waste, abuse or illegal conduct.”

In opposition to the new organization, Senator Graig Meyer, a North Carolina Democrat, said that this would give them free reign to enter your home without a warrant if you do business with the state and if your business is at your home. Rep. Allison Dahle is quoted saying, “This secret police force can even come into, for example, a law firm that receives state funding for court-appointed lawyers. This now means that the sanctity of attorney-client privilege is now defunct.”

While not much has been made available to the public as to the inner details of how the JLCGO will work, both Meyer and Dahle bring up great points. Whether you do business with the state or not, the government should not be able to enter your house without a warrant. This is a direct violation of a person’s Fourth Amendment right. Following Dahle’s concerns, if the JLCGO can enter a state-funded law firm whenever they please, this breaches attorney-client privilege. Whatever their clients say in private is no longer confidential. The initial vision of this organization is clear, but ultimately, it will do more harm than good. The government should not be given this much power, as it could lead to far too many problems.