Reasonable cause is a legal standard used in US courts to determine whether a reasonable person would have acted in the same way given the circumstances. It is used in criminal and civil contexts, with probable cause being the higher standard for actual arrests and warrants. The US Supreme Court uses these standards to safeguard constitutional rights during police stops. The IRS also uses reasonable cause to determine whether a person should be exempt from civil penalties for filing late or incorrect tax returns.
Reasonable cause is a standard of proof. It applies to a set of facts or actions to demonstrate whether a reasonable person would have come to the same conclusion or acted in the same way given the totality of the circumstances. The standard is part of the tests applied by US courts to police action in criminal matters, but has also been applied in some civil contexts.
The US Supreme Court is particularly concerned with safeguarding constitutional rights when civilians are confronted with police action. A major concern has been the question of a police officer’s right to stop an ordinary citizen to determine whether he has been involved in a crime. The court established probable cause and reasonable cause as the two legal standards of evidence, or tests, to apply to the circumstances of a police stop.
Probable cause is the highest standard and applies to actual arrests and warrants. Reasonable cause is the lesser standard that allows a police officer to stop and briefly detain a citizen if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has been or is about to be involved in a crime. This definition allows judges and jurors to determine the legality of the stoppage. Judges and jurors are asked to determine whether a reasonable person of ordinary intelligence, faced with the same circumstances as the police officer, would have concluded that the citizen should be stopped.
If the court determines that a reasonable person would not have had sufficient grounds to suspect the citizen of something illegal, the stop will be deemed improper. This type of ruling can form the basis for a citizen to file a civil suit against the police department for damages, usually involving embarrassment and emotional distress. As a result, many jurisdictions require officials to document and substantiate detentions with particularity.
Criminal law is not the only context in which a reasonable cause standard can be applied. For example, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses this standard when a person is seeking exemption from civil penalties for filing late or incorrect tax returns. IRS administrative officers and judges examine the entirety of the circumstances and determine whether there was a reasonable cause for the person to commit the infraction. Reasonableness is considered to be based on the actions of the ordinary person, and if the IRS believes that the ordinary person, faced with the same circumstances, would have filed the offending tax return, it will waive the taxes and penalties associated with the crime.
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