A woman called police from a public phone and refused to identify herself. She told the police a suspect had shown her marijuana in his car and told her that in a few minutes he would be driving to a specified geographical area with the drugs. The

Question

informant provided investigators specific details about the suspect's vehicle and license plate number. The police followed up on the information given to them by the concerned citizen and located the vehicle. They stopped the vehicle, conducted a search, and found drugs in the car. The suspect was subsequently arrested. Which statement below best reflects the credibility of the informant and the legality of the police actions?

A) The woman is credible and the officers had probable cause to search the vehicle and arrest the suspect.
B) Since the woman did not identify herself, the woman is not legally credible and as a result, the officers did not have probable cause to search the vehicle and arrest the suspect.
C) The woman is presumed credible since no evidence exists to overcome the presumption, thus the officers had probable cause to search the vehicle and arrest the suspect.
D) The woman is not credible since a legitimate motivation was not identified by the police, thus the search and arrest are void.

Answer 1

B) Since the woman did not identify herself, the woman is not legally credible and as a result, the officers did not have probable cause to search the vehicle and arrest the suspect.