You may have wondered when can the police arrest you? What does it take for them to take you downtown? Can they do that just because they don’t like you looks, or do they need a good reason.

“Probable cause” requires more than a mere suspicion that a suspect committed a crime, but not an absolute certainty.

Probable cause is the key issue in the arrest process. The police need probable cause to make an arrest or obtain an arrest warrant from a judge.

(For more information on the probable cause concept, see How much “probable cause” do cops need? For an explanation of the standard needed for a detention, rather than an arrest, see What is reasonable suspicion?)

Establishing Probable Cause

To establish probable cause, police officers must be able to point to objective circumstances leading them to believe that a suspect committed a crime. A police officer can’t establish probable cause by saying only something like, “I just had a hunch that the defendant was a burglar.”

Judges, not police officers, have the last word on whether probable cause exists. A police officer may be sincere in believing that the facts establish probable cause. But if a judge examines that same information and disagrees, then probable cause does not exist (or did not exist, if the question is being decided after an arrest).

Note that probable cause may have existed at the time of an arrest even if the defendant didn’t actually do anything wrong. Put differently, an arrest is valid as long as it is based on probable cause, even if the arrested person is innocent.

How Much Information = Probable Cause?

The million-dollar question is: How much information do police officers need to convince a judge to issue an arrest warrant or to justify a warrantless arrest? In general, probable cause requires more than a mere suspicion that a suspect committed a crime, but not as much information as would be required to prove the suspect guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. (See How much “probable cause” do the police need?)

Because probable cause is an abstract concept, a firm definition of it is evasive. Courts have to determine case by case whether there is or was probable cause for an arrest.

If you have been arrested and if you wonder if the police had probable cause, you should consult with Alex Truluck. Alexander Truluck focuses his practice as a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.criminallawyerclearwaterflorida.com
or call (727) 799-3550.