In 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court carved out a new legal standard of proof. “Reasonable suspicion” is a product of the landmark decision in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968). Reasonable suspicion is less than probable cause—the standard for arrest and obtaining a search warrant—but more than a seasoned police officer’s “hunch,” according to the opinion.

Reasonable suspicion must be based on “specific and articulable facts … taken together with rational inferences from those facts.” In other words, the police must believe that a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime, and a reasonable belief that the person “may be armed and presently dangerous.”

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