What do you need for arrest and preliminary hearing?

What do you need for arrest and preliminary hearing?

• A. Reasonable Suspicion
• B. Preponderance of the evidence
• C. Beyond a reasonable doubt
• D. Probable Cause

Answer: (D)

Probable cause is the standard needed for both arrest and a preliminary hearing. It means a reasonable belief, based on facts and circumstances known at the time, that a person has committed a crime and is connected to it. For an arrest, officers must have probable cause to take someone into custody. At a preliminary hearing, the judge uses the same standard to decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial by binding over the case. By contrast, reasonable suspicion justifies a brief stop or detention, not an arrest; beyond a reasonable doubt is the level of proof required to convict at trial; and preponderance of the evidence is the civil standard used in noncriminal matters.

Probable cause is the standard needed for both arrest and a preliminary hearing. It means a reasonable belief, based on facts and circumstances known at the time, that a person has committed a crime and is connected to it. For an arrest, officers must have probable cause to take someone into custody. At a preliminary hearing, the judge uses the same standard to decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial by binding over the case. By contrast, reasonable suspicion justifies a brief stop or detention, not an arrest; beyond a reasonable doubt is the level of proof required to convict at trial; and preponderance of the evidence is the civil standard used in noncriminal matters.