Spinelli v. United States
E522193
Spinelli v. United States is a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court decision that refined the standards for evaluating probable cause based on informants’ tips under the Fourth Amendment, later modified by the more flexible totality-of-the-circumstances test in Illinois v. Gates.
Statements (40)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | United States Supreme Court case ⓘ |
| appliedTest | Aguilar two-pronged test NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
United States constitutional law
ⓘ
United States criminal procedure ⓘ |
| citation |
21 L. Ed. 2d 637
ⓘ
393 U.S. 410 ⓘ 89 S. Ct. 584 ⓘ |
| clarified | requirements for corroboration of informant information by independent police investigation ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvision | Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1969-01-27 ⓘ |
| dissentingOpinionBy |
Justice Byron R. White
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Justice Hugo L. Black NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Potter Stewart NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | William Spinelli v. United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
An informant’s tip must be evaluated under a two-pronged test requiring a showing of the informant’s basis of knowledge and veracity or reliability.
ⓘ
The affidavit supporting the search warrant did not establish probable cause under the standards required by the Fourth Amendment. ⓘ |
| impact | Influenced state and federal standards for evaluating informant-based probable cause until Illinois v. Gates. ⓘ |
| issue | Whether an FBI affidavit relying in part on an informant’s tip established probable cause for issuance of a search warrant. ⓘ |
| joinedByInMajority |
Chief Justice Earl Warren
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Justice Abe Fortas NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Thurgood Marshall NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice William O. Douglas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal ⓘ |
| laterModifiedBy | Illinois v. Gates NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| laterModifiedByDoctrine | totality-of-the-circumstances test for probable cause ⓘ |
| legalSubject |
criminal procedure
ⓘ
search and seizure ⓘ |
| legalTest | Aguilar–Spinelli test NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Justice John Marshall Harlan II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| petitioner | William Spinelli NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedentFor | Aguilar–Spinelli test for evaluating informant tips in probable cause determinations NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| refined | standards for evaluating probable cause based on informants’ tips ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Aguilar v. Texas
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Illinois v. Gates NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| respondent | United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result | Conviction reversed ⓘ |
| term | Warren Court NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.