{"id":15872,"date":"2025-11-12T18:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T23:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/?p=15872"},"modified":"2025-11-13T15:25:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T20:25:35","slug":"fourth-amendment-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The North Carolina Court of Appeals\u2019 decision in <em data-start=\"161\" data-end=\"179\">State v. Hickman<\/em> (COA24-893, filed November 5, 2025) revisits a foundational <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-15874 lazyload\" src=\"\/jshared\/img\/icons\/spinner.svg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Civil-Warrants_-Criminal-Searches-Fourth-Amendment-in-North-Carolina-300x168.webp\" alt=\"Civil warrants and criminal searches in North Carolina courtroom scene symbolizing Fourth Amendment protections and limits\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Civil-Warrants_-Criminal-Searches-Fourth-Amendment-in-North-Carolina-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Civil-Warrants_-Criminal-Searches-Fourth-Amendment-in-North-Carolina-1024x574.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Civil-Warrants_-Criminal-Searches-Fourth-Amendment-in-North-Carolina-768x431.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Civil-Warrants_-Criminal-Searches-Fourth-Amendment-in-North-Carolina-1000x561.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Civil-Warrants_-Criminal-Searches-Fourth-Amendment-in-North-Carolina-214x120.webp 214w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Civil-Warrants_-Criminal-Searches-Fourth-Amendment-in-North-Carolina.webp 1312w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> question in constitutional law. When government agents enter private property without a warrant, what happens to the evidence they obtain?<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"112\" data-end=\"732\">While the case involves a Department of Revenue tax warrant rather than a traditional criminal investigation, its implications extend beyond tax collection. It clarifies the continuing role of the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 20 of the North Carolina Constitution in protecting private dwellings from unauthorized searches and seizures.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"734\" data-end=\"1193\">The opinion also reaffirms an older, quieter truth that sometimes gets lost in modern exclusionary-rule debate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"read_more_link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/\"  title=\"Continue Reading Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The North Carolina Court of Appeals\u2019 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 than a traditional criminal investigation, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2467,2473,2392,110,345,2464,2466,1823,2465,2469,1653,2345,2379,2475,2472,2471,2229,426,1587,2390,2474,2463,2399,2468,2470],"class_list":["post-15872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","tag-administrative-warrants","tag-appellate-decisions-north-carolina","tag-article-i-section-20","tag-bill-powers-attorney","tag-charlotte-criminal-lawyer","tag-civil-warrants","tag-constitutional-law-north-carolina","tag-constitutional-protections","tag-criminal-searches","tag-department-of-revenue-north-carolina","tag-exclusionary-rule-north-carolina","tag-fourth-amendment-north-carolina","tag-good-faith-exception","tag-hickman-decision-2025","tag-illegal-search-evidence","tag-judicial-activism","tag-north-carolina-court-of-appeals","tag-north-carolina-criminal-defense","tag-powers-law-firm-charlotte","tag-search-and-seizure-law","tag-search-warrant-law","tag-state-v-hickman","tag-suppression-motions","tag-tax-warrant-search","tag-warrant-requirement"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"State v. Hickman clarifies how the Fourth Amendment limits civil warrants, administrative searches, and tax enforcement in North Carolina.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"State v. Hickman clarifies how the Fourth Amendment limits civil warrants, administrative searches, and tax enforcement in North Carolina.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FOURTH-AMENDMENT-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carolina Attorneys\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina","description":"State v. Hickman clarifies how the Fourth Amendment limits civil warrants, administrative searches, and tax enforcement in North Carolina.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina","twitter_description":"State v. Hickman clarifies how the Fourth Amendment limits civil warrants, administrative searches, and tax enforcement in North Carolina.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FOURTH-AMENDMENT-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carolina Attorneys","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/"},"author":{"name":"Carolina Attorneys","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7b1994a08a51b357b94c69492e786113"},"headline":"Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina","datePublished":"2025-11-12T23:00:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-13T20:25:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/"},"wordCount":2202,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FOURTH-AMENDMENT-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","keywords":["Administrative Warrants","Appellate Decisions North Carolina","Article I Section 20","bill powers attorney","charlotte criminal lawyer","Civil Warrants","Constitutional Law North Carolina","constitutional protections","Criminal Searches","Department of Revenue North Carolina","exclusionary rule North Carolina","Fourth Amendment North Carolina","Good Faith Exception","Hickman Decision 2025","Illegal Search Evidence","Judicial Activism","North Carolina Court of Appeals","north carolina criminal defense","Powers Law Firm Charlotte","Search and Seizure Law","Search Warrant Law","State v. Hickman","Suppression Motions","Tax Warrant Search","Warrant Requirement"],"articleSection":["Criminal Defense"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/","name":"Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FOURTH-AMENDMENT-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","datePublished":"2025-11-12T23:00:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-13T20:25:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7b1994a08a51b357b94c69492e786113"},"description":"State v. Hickman clarifies how the Fourth Amendment limits civil warrants, administrative searches, and tax enforcement in North Carolina.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FOURTH-AMENDMENT-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FOURTH-AMENDMENT-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","width":1312,"height":736,"caption":"Fourth Amendment North Carolina concept image symbolizing constitutional limits on civil warrants and criminal searches"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/fourth-amendment-north-carolina\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Civil Warrants, Criminal Searches: Fourth Amendment in North Carolina"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/","name":"Carolina Criminal Defense &amp; DUI Lawyer Updates","description":"Published by Carolina Criminal Defense &amp; DUI Lawyers \u2014 Carolina Attorneys","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7b1994a08a51b357b94c69492e786113","name":"Carolina Attorneys","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/203afd0750f8833a03d5e178d5110902866fdc6efa9739b9dab848a970ad1245?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/203afd0750f8833a03d5e178d5110902866fdc6efa9739b9dab848a970ad1245?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/203afd0750f8833a03d5e178d5110902866fdc6efa9739b9dab848a970ad1245?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carolina Attorneys"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FOURTH-AMENDMENT-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15872"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15918,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15872\/revisions\/15918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}