Background: For the first several years of my career, the question I got more than every other question put together was whether I thought the officer had probable cause. What is most ironic about that (until I became an agent myself – several years into my career), everything I knew about probable cause I learned from officers and their training and experience in the field. Neither a law degree nor an election/appointment to the bench better equips the lawyer or judge to assess facts observed by the officer. If you know probable cause is a “fair probability,” then you have all of the training and accreditation an attorney or judge has in determining whether the facts amount to probable cause.
The Application: Rather than ask, Do I have “PC,” ask yourself, Is there a “fair probability?” In other words, don’t ask, If I find evidence of drug distribution in the trash associated with a house, is there PC for a warrant? Instead ask If I find evidence of drug distribution in the trash associated with a house, based on my training and experience is there a fair probability the house contains evidence of drug distribution? It is my hope to empower officers to believe in themselves. If, based on your training and experience, you believe there is a “fair probability” that evidence is at a location and you can explain why, I’ll bet on you about every time.
