When Suspicion Meets the Law
Video Transcript: So what is probable cause? Hi, I’m Ty Smith, a lawyer in Oklahoma with Wirth Law Office, and probable cause is one of those amorphous concepts of law.
It’s one of those things where you can almost say, “I know it when I see it,” which is normally talking about pornographic material in the Supreme Court. But probable cause is an evidentiary standard by which police have a… Police will cite their probable cause as a reason to obtain a warrant.
Essentially, what it is, it is a reasonable suspicion that you are committing or have committed a crime. It’s the basis for an arrest or a search. As I said, it’s hard to pin down, but a definition that’s commonly cited is from the US Supreme Court, 1964 Beck v. Ohio. Let me quote this for you here.
Probable cause is whether, at the moment of arrest, the facts and circumstances within an officer’s knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information are sufficient to warrant a prudent person in believing that a suspect had committed or was committing an offense. So that depends. It depends on what they think you did.
Let’s say there’s a shop that now has its burglar alarm going off and they see you running away from the shop. They didn’t see you break into it, they didn’t see you do anything, but they see you running away from the shop. Certainly, they’re like, “Oh, that’s very suspicious,” and it’s reasonable to be suspicious of that. You could have any reason to be running opposite the direction.
Now, you could just be going for a jog, but you have to understand in the eyes of the cops, they’re like, “Ah, that’s mighty suspicious.” So they can use that to arrest you and at least detain you for questioning at the very least.
So if you have any other questions about this, you have questions involving the Fourth Amendment, I would love to speak to you about these things. I do criminal law and family law mostly. Once more, my name’s Ty Smith. I’m an Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney with Wirth Law Office. You can find me at theoklahomacityattorney.com, or you can call my office at (405) 888-5400, and I’d be glad to speak to you about this.
