Originally Posted by
Cyclesafe
If I recall my Crim Pro class correctly the cop needs a reason to believe (50%+ chance - AKA probable cause) that you have committed some crime (no matter how slight - even vagrancy) to detain you. But I think he would have come up with some sort of story that would be plausible in the community in question - especially in retrospect - so as a practical matter you would have no case....
Encounters with law enforcement require that you mind your P's and Q's. Bear in mind that in a country that sponsors Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and the Patriot Act, your Constitutional rights not guaranteed.
While I am no expert in criminal procedure, I think the phrase you are looking for is "reasonable suspicion" not "probable cause". An officer who stops someone for questioning, must have a reasonable suspicion a crime has been committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed. This standard is much less than probable cause. Once stopped, the officer can conduct a limited search for weapons of the area under the suspects control, if the officer has a reasonable suspicion the suspect is armed and dangerous.
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).