A Criminal Defense Deep Dive by Bill Powers, Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist (NBTA/NBLSC), Powers Law Firm, P.A. (Charlotte, NC) As a criminal defense attorney in North Carolina, I am asked to explain the legal difference between planning a crime and attempting a crime. If you or a loved one…
There’s something about Thanksgiving that brings families together and sometimes tears them apart before the pumpkin pie hits the table. As a Charlotte criminal defense attorney who has practiced in Mecklenburg County for more than 30 years, I can tell you this without hesitation the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the…
QUICK ANSWER: In North Carolina, marijuana possession remains illegal under NCGS § 90-94, regardless of changing attitudes in other states. Charlotte courtrooms now explicitly ban marijuana odor with posted signs. While the smell itself isn’t a crime, appearing in court smelling like marijuana can damage your credibility, affect sentencing decisions,…
North Carolina law prohibits the possession, sale, and trafficking of controlled substances. Yet the same State that prosecutes those offenses also taxes and therefore profits them. Is that right? Does that make sense? Should the government profit from crime? Is it OK to tax Drugs? Extortion? What about Illegal Pornography,…
The North Carolina Court of Appeals’ decision in State v. Hickman (COA24-893, filed November 5, 2025) revisits a foundational question in constitutional law. When government agents enter private property without a warrant, what happens to the evidence they obtain? While the case involves a Department of Revenue tax warrant rather…
The Voluntary Intoxication defense in North Carolina criminal law is not an excuse for unlawful conduct but an evidentiary doctrine that can negate the specific intent required for certain crimes. It is one of the most demanding defenses to raise, requiring a high threshold of proof. Key Principles of the…
Voluntary intoxication occupies one of the narrowest spaces in North Carolina criminal law. It is not a general justification for unlawful conduct, nor is it a plea for sympathy. Instead, voluntary intoxication functions as a limited doctrine that may, under rare circumstances, negate the specific intent required for particular crimes.…
If a “knock and talk” crosses the constitutional line, can what officers saw or learned still justify a search warrant? TL;DR Quick Take: North Carolina v. Norman tests the limits of North Carolina’s knock and talk doctrine and asks whether a search warrant can survive when officers use observations gathered…
Judicial activism is one of the most debated concepts in American constitutional law. It describes a form of judicial behavior in which courts are perceived to go beyond interpreting the law and instead make policy choices that belong to the political branches. To its critics, judicial activism threatens the separation…
TL;DR Quick Take: North Carolina v. Rogers could prove to be one of the most consequential constitutional rulings in North Carolina criminal law in decades. The opinion not only interprets N.C.G.S. § 15A-974 but also redefines how North Carolina courts understand the relationship between the Fourth Amendment and Article I,…
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