Illinois v. Gates

E123411

Illinois v. Gates is a 1983 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established the "totality of the circumstances" test for determining whether an informant’s tip provides probable cause for issuing a search warrant.

All labels observed (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Fourth Amendment case ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ
criminal procedure case ⓘ
appliesTo federal criminal prosecutions ⓘ
state criminal prosecutions ⓘ
areaOfLaw criminal investigations ⓘ
search and seizure ⓘ
chiefJusticeAtDecision Warren E. Burger ⓘ
citation Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) ⓘ
linked to: Illinois v. Gates
citationStyle 462 U.S. 213 ⓘ
constitutionalProvision Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ
country United States ⓘ
court Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate 1983-06-08 ⓘ
decisionType majority opinion ⓘ
factPattern Police corroborated parts of the anonymous tip through surveillance before seeking a warrant. ⓘ
Police received an anonymous letter alleging that Lance and Susan Gates were engaged in drug trafficking. ⓘ
fullCaseName Illinois v. Gates ⓘ
holding The Fourth Amendment probable cause determination for issuing a search warrant is based on a totality of the circumstances test. ⓘ
The rigid two-pronged Aguilar–Spinelli test is abandoned in favor of a more flexible totality of the circumstances approach. ⓘ
impact Became the leading Supreme Court precedent on probable cause based on informant information. ⓘ
Made it easier for law enforcement to use informant tips to obtain search warrants. ⓘ
influenced later Supreme Court and lower court decisions on anonymous tips and probable cause ⓘ
jurisdiction United States ⓘ
languageOfDecision English ⓘ
legalIssue probable cause standard for search warrants ⓘ
use of informant tips to establish probable cause ⓘ
legalPrinciple probable cause is a fluid concept turning on the assessment of probabilities in particular factual contexts ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
overruledDoctrine Aguilar–Spinelli test ⓘ
page 213 ⓘ
precedentFor evaluation of informant reliability and basis of knowledge ⓘ
probable cause determinations based on anonymous tips ⓘ
reasoning A deficiency in one factor, such as an informant’s veracity, may be compensated for by a strong showing on another factor, such as basis of knowledge or corroboration. ⓘ
Probable cause is a practical, common-sense decision based on all circumstances set forth in the affidavit. ⓘ
relatedCase Aguilar v. Texas ⓘ
Spinelli v. United States ⓘ
reporter United States Reports ⓘ
result The search warrant for the Gateses’ car and home was upheld as supported by probable cause. ⓘ
standardAnnounced totality of the circumstances test for probable cause ⓘ
stateParty Illinois ⓘ
subjectMatter search warrant based on anonymous informant tip ⓘ
subjectOf numerous criminal procedure casebooks and law review articles ⓘ
volume 462 ⓘ
yearDecided 1983 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Illinois v. Gates → citation → Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) ⓘ
linked to: Illinois v. Gates
Illinois v. Gates → fullCaseName → Illinois v. Gates ⓘ
Illinois v. Gates → citationStyle → Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) ⓘ
linked to: Illinois v. Gates
Aguilar–Spinelli test → replacedBy → Illinois v. Gates totality-of-the-circumstances test ⓘ
linked to: Illinois v. Gates
Aguilar–Spinelli test → modifiedBy → Illinois v. Gates (1983) ⓘ
linked to: Illinois v. Gates
Aguilar–Spinelli test → relatedTo → Illinois v. Gates totality-of-the-circumstances approach ⓘ
linked to: Illinois v. Gates
Aguilar v. Texas → relatedCase → Illinois v. Gates ⓘ
Spinelli v. United States → relatedCase → Illinois v. Gates ⓘ
Spinelli v. United States → laterModifiedBy → Illinois v. Gates ⓘ