Editing Probable cause (section)

==Definition==
The usual definition of the ''probable cause'' standard includes “a reasonable amount of suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong to justify a [[Reasonable person|prudent and cautious person’s]] belief that certain facts are probably true.”<ref>{{cite book |last=Handler |first=J. G. |title=Ballentine's Law Dictionary |edition=Legal Assistant |year=1994 |location=Albany |publisher=Delmar |page=431 |isbn=0827348746 }}</ref> Notably, this definition does not require that the person making the recognition must hold a public office or have public authority, which allows the citizenry’s common-sense understanding of the legal standard of ''probable cause'' for arrest.

Regarding the issuance of a warrant for arrest, probable cause is the “information sufficient to warrant a prudent person’s belief that the wanted individual had committed a crime (for an arrest warrant) or that evidence of a crime or contraband would be found in a search (for a search warrant)”. As a legal standard, ''probable cause'' is stronger than [[reasonable suspicion]], but weaker than the requirement of evidence to secure a [[criminal conviction]]. Moreover, according to the ''[[Aguilar–Spinelli test]]'' a criminal court can choose to accept [[hearsay]] as a source of probable cause if the source-person is of reliable character or if other evidence supports the hearsay. In the case of ''[[Brinegar v. United States]]'' (1949), the Supreme Court defined probable cause as “where the facts and [the] circumstances within the officers’ knowledge, and of which they have reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient, in themselves, to warrant a belief, by a man of reasonable caution, that a crime is being committed.”<ref>''Brinegar v. United States'', {{ussc|338|160|1949}}.</ref>