Constitution Day speakers to discuss drones, Fourth Amendment

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

UNC Charlotte’s annual Constitution Day observance will be Wednesday, Sept. 20, with guest speakers Neil Godfrey, sheriff of Moore County, and Jeff Welty from the faculty of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government. They will participate in the discussion “Drones and the Fourth Amendment: Flying Above the Law,” starting at 9:30 a.m. in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall. This event is free and open to the public.

Godfrey, who began his law enforcement career with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, worked numerous criminal and drug investigations in Eastern North Carolina as a special agent. After retiring from the SBI, he was appointed chief deputy with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office; he has been sheriff since May 1, 2013.

Welty joined the UNC School of Government in 2008 and works in the area of criminal law and procedure. His research interests include search and seizure, digital evidence, criminal pleadings, capital punishment and firearms law. He serves as the director of the North Carolina Judicial College, which provides training and education to the state’s judicial officials. 

Student leaders from the Pre-law Society, Alpha Phi Sigma, Criminal Justice Graduate Program and Levine Scholars Program will moderate the discussion on how and why the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does or does not apply to drones.

Constitution Day (or Citizenship Day) is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is officially celebrated on Sept. 17; on this date in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention met to sign the document they created. This annual observance is hosted by the UNC Charlotte College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.

Photo: Constitution Day speakers Neil Godrey and Jeff Welty