Reasonable Suspicion
A particularized, objective basis — supported by articulable facts — for suspecting a specific person of criminal activity. Less than probable cause; more than an inchoate hunch.
Reasonable suspicion is the constitutional threshold for an investigatory stop under Terry. Every detention without it is an unlawful seizure, and every fruit — statements, identification, consent, contraband — is subject to suppression. It is the most-litigated standard in criminal procedure because its edges are contested in almost every stop.
An officer in a designated high-crime area sees a person flee upon noticing police. Under Wardlow, headlong flight in that context supports reasonable suspicion. Mere presence does not; flight supplies the extra particularity.
An anonymous caller says a young man at a bus stop is carrying a firearm. Officers find the described person but observe no suspicious conduct. Under Florida v. J.L., the tip alone does not supply reasonable suspicion — there is no predictive detail to corroborate.
A lawful stop for speeding becomes a 25-minute roadside investigation of unrelated matters. Under Rodriguez, the mission of the stop cannot be extended — even briefly — without independent reasonable suspicion. Time past mission = seizure without justification.
- 01Articulable facts — not gut feeling, not officer intuition
- 02Particularized to this person — not a profile, not group characteristics
- 03Objective — judged by whether a reasonable officer would suspect, not whether this officer did
- 04Totality of the circumstances — innocent facts can combine to form suspicion
- 05Temporal match — suspicion must exist at the moment of seizure, not be built after the fact
- “Presence in a high-crime area is enough.” False — Wardlow requires more than location; location is one factor among many.
- “Nervous behavior justifies a stop.” False alone — nervousness is common and weak; it must combine with specific indicators.
- “The officer can prolong the stop to run a drug dog.” False — Rodriguez prohibits any prolongation beyond the traffic mission without new reasonable suspicion.
- “An anonymous tip about a gun is enough for a frisk.” False — Florida v. J.L. held anonymous tips without predictive corroboration are insufficient.
- Move to suppress the stop and everything that follows — statements, consent, contraband, identification
- Pin the officer on the clock — at what moment did the seizure begin, and what facts were known at that instant
- Attack the scope — a Terry stop is brief and investigative; anything beyond that is a de facto arrest requiring probable cause
- Challenge the frisk separately — a stop does not automatically justify a pat-down
- Obtain dashcam, bodycam, and dispatch audio to lock the timeline
Verilexa runs your facts against the standard and flags the strongest suppression or impeachment angles.