Probable Cause in North Carolina | Arrests, Searches, and Warrants

Probable cause is the constitutional standard that allows police to arrest you, search your property, or seize evidence. It is not a guess or a hunch. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that the government show specific, articulable facts that would make a reasonable officer believe a crime was committed, is being committed, or that evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.

North Carolina has its own parallel protection in Article I, Section 20 of the North Carolina Constitution, which prohibits "general warrants." Courts in North Carolina apply the same totality-of-the-circumstances test used in federal courts. That test requires judges to weigh all facts together rather than applying rigid formulas.

For example, a single fact in isolation might not establish probable cause, but multiple facts combined can. An officer who smells alcohol, observes slurred speech, and sees an open container in a vehicle may have probable cause to arrest for DWI in North Carolina. The same officer who only smells alcohol without additional indicators of impairment, may not have probable cause to believe an implied consent offense has occurred.

Importantly, North Carolina appellate courts have treated the statutory phrase "reasonable grounds" as equivalent to probable cause in many settings. In DWI cases specifically, "reasonable grounds" under N.C.G.S. 20-16.2 for chemical testing follows the same analytical framework as probable cause for arrest, though the specific application may vary based on the procedural context.

Probable cause is a higher threshold than reasonable suspicion, which allows for temporary investigative stops in limited circumstances.

Police in North Carolina need probable cause to make an arrest, to obtain a search warrant, and to conduct many warrantless searches such as those involving vehicles or in exigent circumstances. The probable cause requirement ensures that liberty is not intruded upon without objective legal justification by law enforcement.

There are limited circumstances where the law allows action based only on reasonable suspicion. Those include brief investigatory stops of a person or vehicle and protective Terry patdown frisks for weapons, so long as they follow constitutional guidelines.

Probable cause is required before a judge may issue a search warrant. The application for a search warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched and the items or evidence sought. In practice, that means the affidavit has to connect facts to a specific crime, not just describe a general suspicion.

Here are some examples of evidence could establish probable cause versus what likely would not:

Probable Cause: A confidential informant with a proven track record reports seeing heroin sales at a specific address yesterday, corroborated by surveillance showing heavy foot traffic consistent with drug activity.

Lacks Probable Cause: An anonymous tip claims drug activity at an address with no corroboration, no surveillance, and no other supporting facts.

Probable cause is also necessary before an officer can make an arrest. North Carolina courts have consistently ruled that the facts known to the officer at the time must justify the decision. Later evidence that confirms guilt does not create probable cause after the fact.

Reasonable suspicion allows police to briefly stop you if they can point to specific facts suggesting criminal activity may be afoot. It is a lower standard than probable cause but still requires articulable reasons for law enforcement action.

Example of Reasonable Suspicion: An officer sees a car swerving within its lane once at 2 AM leaving a bar district. That may be enough for a stop for DUI in North Carolina, but not necessarily enough for an arrest.

Example of Probable Cause: The same officer approaches the stopped vehicle and observes bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, smell of alcohol, and an admission of drinking. A PBT - Portable Breath Tests indicates a positive reading for alcohol. Properly conducted SFSTs - Standardized Field Sobriety Tests reveal several signs of impairment. Given that fact pattern, probable cause to arrest for DWI may exist.

North Carolina law recognizes two broad categories of exceptions to the probable cause requirement.

Warrant exceptions: These remove the requirement of a judge's pre-approval but still demand probable cause. For example, the automobile exception allows a vehicle search without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe evidence is inside.

Proof-level exceptions: These allow more limited intrusions based on reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause. A stop-and-frisk “Terry Patdown” is the clearest example.

Courts carefully review probable cause and warrant exceptions, excluding improper searches and seized evidence when appropriate.

Police can search your vehicle without a warrant when they have probable cause to believe it contains evidence or contraband, consistent with the “automobile exception.” The automobile exception recognizes that vehicles can quickly leave the scene, often making it impractical to obtain a search warrant.

The automobile exception can extend to containers, compartments, and even locked areas if probable cause supports it.

Consent to search removes the need for probable cause, but consent must be voluntary. You can limit the scope or withdraw consent in some circumstances.

North Carolina courts examine the setting, custody status, and specifics of the fact pattern behind the police encounter, determining whether a reasonable person in like or similar circumstances would feel free to decline to consent to search. Consent obtained by coercion or after an unlawfully prolonged stop may be invalid and lead to suppression of evidence.

Search incident to arrest in North Carolina allows law enforcement to search you and the immediate area within your reach if they have probable cause to arrest you and place you in custody.

A search incident to arrest is generally limited to officer safety concerns involving weapons and preventing the destruction of evidence.

Following Arizona v. Gant, applied in North Carolina, police may search a vehicle incident to arrest in two situations:

1. The arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the vehicle at the time of the search.
2. There is a reasonable basis to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.

This doctrine does not extend to the trunk or locked compartments. If neither condition is met, a vehicle search by law enforcement requires another legal justification.

Police may seize an item without a warrant under the plain view doctrine when three conditions are met:

1. They are lawfully present, and
2. They have a lawful path of access to the item, and
3. The incriminating nature of the item is immediately apparent (in "plain view").

Plain View Example: An officer lawfully enters a home on a domestic violence call. While inside, the officer sees a bag of cocaine on the kitchen counter in plain sight. The officer may seize it without a warrant.

Not Plain View: An officer on a traffic stop shines a flashlight into the back seat and notices a closed backpack. The officer cannot search the backpack based on plain view because the incriminating nature of its contents is not immediately apparent.

The plain feel doctrine ordinarily involves a lawful pat-down or “Terry frisk” for weapons. During such a search an officer feels an object and its contraband nature is immediately obvious, it may be seized. This “plain feel” rule is narrow. Once it becomes clear the item is not a weapon, further manipulation is not permitted unless the illegal character was immediately apparent from the first touch.

A Terry stop allows a brief detention for investigation based on reasonable suspicion that "criminal activity is afoot." A frisk or “patdown” is separate and requires reasonable suspicion that the person is armed with a weapon.

Extending the original purpose of the stop, handcuffing, or transporting the person often requires stronger legal justification. North Carolina courts review "stop and frisk" encounters closely to ensure they are minimally intrusive and not prolonged beyond the circumstances of the original encounter.

An inventory search is administrative rather than investigative. Police may conduct an inventory of a vehicle after a lawful impound or of personal property during booking at a jail. The purpose is to safeguard property and protect against false claims for loss or destruction of personal property.

North Carolina requires that inventories follow standardized policies. Evidence found during a proper inventory may be admissible, but if the procedure strays from policy or appears to be a pretext for investigation, courts may suppress the evidence and dismiss criminal charges for lack of evidence when legally and factually appropriate.