Examples of Reasonable Suspicion in Police Stops and Searches

📚 Quick Study Guide

• ⚖️ Reasonable suspicion is a legal standard lower than probable cause but more than a hunch.
• 👮 It allows law enforcement to briefly detain a person for investigation based on specific and articulable facts.
• 🚗 Common examples include traffic violations, erratic driving, or matching a suspect description.
• 🚶 Suspicious behavior in a high-crime area can also contribute to reasonable suspicion.
• 📝 Officers must be able to explain the basis for their suspicion; it can't be arbitrary.
• ✋ A Terry stop (stop and frisk) requires reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous.
• 📍 The totality of circumstances is considered when determining if reasonable suspicion exists.

Practice Quiz

1. What is the minimum legal standard required for a police officer to conduct a brief investigatory stop (Terry stop)?
   1. Probable Cause
   2. Reasonable Suspicion
   3. Mere Hunch
   4. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
2. Which of the following scenarios is MOST likely to establish reasonable suspicion?
   1. Walking down the street at night
   2. Matching a vague description of a suspect
   3. Erratic driving and swerving across lanes
   4. Wearing a hat and sunglasses
3. An officer notices someone nervously avoiding eye contact in a high-crime area. This, combined with which other factor, might establish reasonable suspicion?
   1. The person is wearing expensive clothing
   2. The person is carrying a large bag
   3. The person matches the description of a recent robbery suspect
   4. The person is talking on a cell phone
4. What legal principle requires officers to articulate specific facts supporting their suspicion?
   1. The Exclusionary Rule
   2. The Miranda Warning
   3. The Fourth Amendment
   4. Articulable Suspicion
5. In determining whether reasonable suspicion exists, courts consider:
   1. The officer's gut feeling
   2. The totality of the circumstances
   3. Only the suspect's behavior
   4. Only the officer's experience
6. Which of the following actions is NOT permissible during a Terry stop based on reasonable suspicion?
   1. A pat-down for weapons if the officer believes the suspect is armed and dangerous
   2. Brief questioning to confirm or dispel suspicions
   3. A full search of the suspect's pockets for contraband
   4. Detaining the suspect for a reasonable amount of time
7. An anonymous tip can contribute to reasonable suspicion if:
   1. It is detailed and corroborated by independent police work
   2. It comes from a known informant
   3. It is about a minor traffic violation
   4. It is about a past crime