The Supreme Court: Vital Informers

For every Supreme Court action aimed at guaranteeing the rights of the accused, there is a reaction that the court is hindering the police. Last week the court issued a ruling that helped instead of hindered law enforcement.

At issue was the secret informer, whose tips often supply police with their sole "probable cause" for arrest. As long as police have such cause for arrest, they can search a suspect for the evidence that may convict him. But two Chicago policemen were sharply challenged in court in 1964 after they arrested one George McCray on a Chicago street corner, searched him...

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