• Probable cause is a legal requirement that law enforcement must satisfy when conducting criminal investigations. While probable cause itself is a nebulous concept in Texas, insufficient probable cause may result in dismissal, or rejection of evidence, in a criminal case.
  
  

Probable Cause for Arrest

• Texas requires a police officer to have a reasonable and articulable belief that a crime has been committed and that the individual being arrested committed the crime. This is the core of what constitutes probable cause. In a theft case, a police officer or security guard operating a surveillance system that observes activity that appears to be suspicious (hiding clothing from a camera, exiting a fitting room wearing different clothing, etc.) will have necessary probable cause to detain and question an individual. When this exists, arrest warrants are unnecessary. If a police officer cannot offer sufficient probable cause for an arrest, it is likely that any charges flowing from the arrest will be dismissed, even if the officer does subsequently discover a criminal act.
  
  

Probable Cause for Searches

• In order for police in Texas to conduct an extensive search of a physical location that does not fall under an exception, law enforcement must first obtain a search warrant. In order to obtain a search warrant, a law enforcement officer must swear, before a judge, that sufficient probable cause exists to justify the search. This is usually proven in the hearing in which law enforcement officers are seeking the warrant. The officers will lay out the situation and the evidence they have collected to date that has been the basis of their belief that execution of a search warrant on the specified location will further an ongoing criminal investigation.
  
  

Exceptions to Probable Cause Requirements

• Probable cause does not apply where items are in plain view, such as if store clothing with store security tags attached are openly viewable to a security guard on an individual who has passed the last point of sale in a store. In addition, if the defendant consents to a search, or if some emergency or exigent circumstances exist, no probable cause is required. Finally, physical body searches or automobile searches incident to a lawful arrest require no probable cause, as a driver operating a vehicle on Texas public roads has less expectation and right to privacy.