PROBABLE CAUSE

The meaning of probable cause is where known circumstances and facts reasonably trustworthy in nature would be sufficient to justify a reasonable man to believe that a crime is being or has been committed. Probable cause was defined in the court case of Smith V. U.S. court case describes probable cause as “The sum of total layers of information and synthesis of what police have heard, know, or observe as trained officers”. This basically says that probable cause is what you have learned throughout your police career as a police officer. If an officer makes a mistake when using probable cause to conduct a traffic stop or arrest someone there is always the “Good faith exception”. The good faith exception is a rule that will protect a police officer in case there is debate about probable cause since probable cause doesn’t have an exact meaning. Another aspect of probable cause is called the “Exclusionary rule”. This rule ...