Probable cause is one of the few phrases you can actually see in the Fourth Amendment. Probable cause is not establishing guilt (beyond a reasonable doubt), but it is merely a threshold for government agents to search or seize people or their property. In the coming sessions, we will be addressing a number of aspects of probable cause. Again – we don’t convict people based on probable cause, but it is simply what justifies police action in investigating and preventing crime.
Legal Supplement
Brinegar v. U.S., 338 U.S. 160 (1949),
[Probable cause] means[s] more than bare suspicion…
Torres v. Puerto Rico, 442 U.S. 465 (1979),
[T]he grounds for a search must satisfy objective standards which ensure the invasion of personal privacy is justified by legitimate governmental interests.
Steagald v. U.S., 451 U.S. 213 (1981),
[A] showing of probable cause … therefore safeguards an individual’s interest in the privacy of his home and possessions against the unjustified intrusion of the police.
Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730 (1983),
[P]robable cause is a flexible, common-sense standard …
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983),
[P]robable cause is a fluid concept – turning on the assessment of probabilities in particular factual contexts – not readily, or even usefully, reduced to a neat set of legal rules.
