§ 3.6 PROBABLE CAUSE

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 3.6 PROBABLE CAUSE

Principle of Law: The police must have probable cause to arrest. Probable cause is established when the officer has reasonably trustworthy information sufficient to lead a responsible person to believe an offense has been committed and that the person to be arrested committed the offense.

§ 3.6.1 Factors for Probable Cause

State v. Superior Court (Blake),149 Ariz. 269, 718 P.2d 171 (1986)

An arresting officer has probable cause to arrest a defendant if he has reasonably trustworthy information sufficient to lead a responsible person to believe an offense has been committed and that the person to be arrested committed the offense. In this case, the defendant's erratic driving, fair performance on field sobriety tests, smell of alcohol on his breath, appearance, and his score on the HGN test were sufficient to establish probable cause to arrest defendant for driving under the influence.

State v. Zavala,136 Ariz. 356, 666 P.2d 456 (1983)

The officer had probable cause to make an arrest where: the defendant was discovered unconscious in his truck, that was pulled off the side of the road; the appearance of the defendant's mouth and front of his shirt indicated that he had recently vomited; and the officer noted a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on the defendant and in his truck.

State v. Moran,232 Ariz. 528, 307 P.3d 95 (2013)

Probable cause exists when a reasonable person would believe that one committed a crime based on reasonably...