Welcome to the “Probable Cause” category in the OpenCdA.com website. Every person living in the United States, every person yet unborn and even some who have already died are affected by our criminal justice system. My posts in this category will mostly cover how our community is influenced by the criminal justice system. Posts in “Probable Cause” will report and comment on that interaction in our community.
Probable cause, PC for short, is generally defined as “A reasonable ground to suspect that a person has committed or is committing a crime or that a place contains specific items connected with a crime.” [1] PC is more than mere suspicion but usually less than the evidence required to convict.
In other words, PC is reasonable conclusions, not conclusive proof. If you demand conclusive proof to support every thought presented here, you will be disappointed. Posts and comments will not be reckless. I strive for reasonableness, not perfection. I may choose to not put up your post or your comment without your providing me with reasonable substantiation for something you have represented as fact. Your opinion is welcome, whereas unsubstantiated statements of fact are not. Likewise, I plan to include endnotes and hyperlinks with my posts to give you some understanding about how I arrived at the post’s or comment’s thesis.
Comments and content suggestions are welcome.
S// Bill
[1] Garner, Bryan A. (Ed.). (2004). Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed.). St. Paul, MN: Thomson-West.