An arrest is “the use of legal authority to deprive someone of his or her freedom of movement” (“Arrest”, n.d.). Law enforcement officers make an arrest when they take a suspect into custody. The general law of arrest includes probable cause, an arrest warrant, and the procedure of an arrest. For an arrest to be legal and valid, an officer must have probable cause that the suspect committed a crime. An arrest warrant is not always required. This paper will give a detailed discussion on the general law of arrest.
The fourth amendment makes probable cause a requirement for an arrest. It states that “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause” (“Fourth Amendment,” n.d.). According to the definition, officers must have probable cause to make an arrest and to obtain a warrant for an arrest to be legal. An officer must be able to show the circumstances that made them be certain that the suspect committed the crime. For example, an officer may hear from dispatch that there is a suspect on the run from robbing random people on the street and that they should be on the lookout for the suspect. Then the officer pulls a man over for …show more content…
United States (1959) was an early case that explained the definition of an arrest. In this case, “the Court found that an arrest occurred when police stopped a car whose occupants were suspected of transferring stolen liquor” (Whitebread & Slobogin, 2008, p. 76). This was an arrest because the police restricted the suspects’ movement. The arrest was not legal because they did not have probable cause. In Terry v. Ohio (1968), an officer suspected that three men were going to rob a store. The officer patted down their clothes and found weapons. This case was determined as an arrest because “the officer needed only reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot, a lower level of suspicion than probable cause” (Whitebread & Slobogin, 2008, p. 76). If an officer has reasonable suspicion then they may search a suspect for
The fourth amendment makes probable cause a requirement for an arrest. It states that “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause” (“Fourth Amendment,” n.d.). According to the definition, officers must have probable cause to make an arrest and to obtain a warrant for an arrest to be legal. An officer must be able to show the circumstances that made them be certain that the suspect committed the crime. For example, an officer may hear from dispatch that there is a suspect on the run from robbing random people on the street and that they should be on the lookout for the suspect. Then the officer pulls a man over for …show more content…
United States (1959) was an early case that explained the definition of an arrest. In this case, “the Court found that an arrest occurred when police stopped a car whose occupants were suspected of transferring stolen liquor” (Whitebread & Slobogin, 2008, p. 76). This was an arrest because the police restricted the suspects’ movement. The arrest was not legal because they did not have probable cause. In Terry v. Ohio (1968), an officer suspected that three men were going to rob a store. The officer patted down their clothes and found weapons. This case was determined as an arrest because “the officer needed only reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot, a lower level of suspicion than probable cause” (Whitebread & Slobogin, 2008, p. 76). If an officer has reasonable suspicion then they may search a suspect for