LEGAL BRIEF
By
Special Agent Jeffrey Higginbotham,
Legal Instructor, FBI Academy
In May 13, 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in "County
of Riverside v. McLaughlin" that the U.S. Constitution requires
a judicial determination of probable cause within a prompt
Court established a maximum 48-hour period, including
ntervening holidays and weekends, in which persons arrested
The Court stated that a 48-hour standard recognizes the
existence of some unavoidable delay following the arrest caused
n transporting arrested persons, handling bookings and
late-night bookings when no magistrate is readily available, and
occupied with other duties. In its decision, the Court noted,
"[A] jurisdiction that provides judicial determinations of
matter, comply with the promptness requirement."
The Court cautioned, however, that a probable cause
unreasonable if the delay was for the "purpose of gathering
additional evidence to justify the arrest...motivated by ill
the government to demonstrate the existence of a bona fide
emergency or other extraordinary circumstance."
County of Riverside v. McLaughlin may require some law
enforcement organizations to modify their post-warrantless
arrest practices to ensure that a mechanism exists for a
for law enforcement organizations to coordinate all such
attorney.
