Royse City, TX asked in Criminal Law for Texas

Q: Is lack of outside witness an example of lack of probable cause

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Probable cause is determined by all of the facts and circumstances known to the police officer at the time of the arrest or search. The absence of a material witness can play a role in that determination if the circumstances known to the police officer indicate that another person witnessed the conduct and that person's identity was made known to the police officer at the time. That witness's lack of corroboration of what a victim says happened could weaken the existence of probable cause, depending on what that witness says--for example, if the alleged victim says my friend was there and saw it too, but the friend denies being there or says they did not observe the criminal conduct described by the alleged victim.

On the other hand, many crimes occur where the only two people present are the victim and the perpetrator. In such a circumstance, the fact that there was no other person who witnessed the conduct would not play a significant role in such a determination.

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