![]() This more flexible standard did not stop judges from using the two-part Aguilar-Spinelli test. The Court got concerned that judges were forgetting to take into account all aspects of a police investigation when figuring out whether probable cause existed in any given situation.Īccordingly, the Supreme Court created the current standard, which asks judges too look at all the facts of a case – i.e., the “totality of the circumstances” – to make a call on whether probable cause existed to support a search warrant. Supreme Court saw that judges were relying too heavily on the two-part Aguilar-Spinelli test. Supreme Court made a modest change in 1983. While the two-part Aguilar-Spinelli test was the federal standard for several decades (and is still the standard for informant reliability in certain states), the U.S. The Current Standard That Replaced Aguilar-Spinelli ![]() Yet, if the informant is a complete stranger to the cops, then it will be very hard to support that informant’s credibility without doing some investigation to confirm that what the informant is saying is accurate.Ĭ. With regard to credibility and reliability, if the police have worked with an informant before and that person has a history of providing quality information about criminal activity, then the police will be sure to emphasize that to the judge when applying for a search warrant. In that case, a judge might not find the cops have enough probable cause to get a search warrant. By contrast, if the informant simply told the police that he heard gossip about a drug operation somewhere, then the basis of knowledge is weak. ![]() It could be powerful information supporting a finding of probable cause. With regard to the basis of knowledge, if an informant tells the police that he or she actually saw the suspects measuring and bagging cocaine in a particular basement, then their basis of knowledge is pretty strong. Practically speaking, when the police apply for a warrant, they will spend a great deal of time and energy confirming that the information given by the informant is reliable based on those two parts. How credible is the informant, and how reliable is his or her information? Basically, judges looking at a warrant application will want to know some details about why the informant should be believed, and whether the information provided is accurate. ![]()
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