Probable Cause Case Study

The definition of probable cause was first outlined in the case of Brinegar v. United. The justices in the cases concluded that probable cause is more than mere suspicion it exists when the facts and circumstances within the officer’s knowledge of which they had trustworthy information are sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution that an offense has or will be committed. As this case defined probable cause the court set forth a two-prong test established in Aguillar-Spinelli v. United States determining whether an informant's tip establishes probable cause. The two factors to determine if two prong test was is basis of knowledge and reliability of informant. In Aguillar-Spinelli the FBI tracked Spinelli for five days. During the four out of five days Spinelli traveled to St Louis, Missouri mid-day and parked his car at a specific apartment complex and entered in a certain apartment. As officers checked Spinelli’s phone records. An informant indicated the phone numbers tied to the apartment were being used by Spinelli n a bookmaking operation. FBI filed affidavit and secured a search warrant for the apartment based on the tip. Spinelli was convicted of interstate travel in aid to racketeering based on evidence found with warrant. However, the court ruled that the informants tip was not enough to provide a basis for …show more content…
I believe that the two-prong test is too strict it causes the police to state many steps to establish probable cause. In addition, the two-prong test is not consistent and cannot be used in every situation. The totality of circumstance allows for the officer to make a practical, common-sense determination of whether, considering all the information available, probable cause to arrest exists, while giving due consideration to the informant's information. The totality of circumstance allows officers to make the best decision when establishing probable cause in a