Articles Tagged with North Carolina search and seizure

April 13, 2026

Search Incident to Arrest in North Carolina

Search incident to arrest can be a consequential tool for law enforcement. It comes up in traffic stops, DWI investigations, drug arrests, and other enforcement actions in North Carolina on a daily basis. When a search incident to a lawful arrest takes place, evidence of criminal acts may be properly admitted. When a search exceeds the bounds of law, a Motion to Suppress may prove dispositive.

This article lays out the criminal law in plain terms, with references to the North Carolina and United States Supreme Court cases that matter most when this issue ends up before a judge.

The Probable Cause Foundation|Why the Search Incident to Arrest Exception Exists at All

February 17, 2026

DUI Checkpoints in 2026 | North Carolina Caselaw Update

by Carolina Attorneys

DUI checkpoints remain constitutionally permissible under both the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 20 of the North Carolina Constitution, provided they satisfy the balancing test articulated in federal and state precedent and comply with the procedural safeguards in N.C.G.S. § 20-16.3A.

That principle is settled law and has been for quite some time.

What is not settled, and what may determine suppression outcomes in individual cases, is whether a specific license checkpoint or “DWI checking station” satisfies those requirements in practice. Recent Court of Appeals authority confirms that checkpoint suppression litigation turns on evidentiary record development and trial court fact-finding, not on abstract constitutional arguments.