167 Ga. App. 417 - Stephens v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““While the Supreme Court has retreated from the ‘two-pronged’ Aguilar-Spinelli test... it has by no means emasculated the Fourth Amendment (Code Ann. Ann. § 1-804). Indeed, the court reiterated that ‘(a)n affidavit must provide the magistrate with a substantial basis for determining the existence of probable cause,’ and ‘wholly conclusory statement(s)’ will not suffice. 51 USLW at 4716. The affidavit must contain sufficient facts to enable the magistrate to make an independent determination of probable cause based upon those facts and ‘reasonable inferences’ drawn from them. Id. ‘Sufficient information must be presented to the magistrate to allow that official to determine probable cause; his action cannot be a mere ratification of the bare conclusions of others. In order to ensure that such an abdication of the magistrate’s duty does not occur, courts must continue to conscientiously review the sufficiency of affidavits on which warrants are issued.’ Id. Thus, the same principles which have traditionally constituted the foundation of probable cause determinations continue in force . . . The only difference is that an otherwise sufficient warrant will not be struck down because the affidavit failed to meet one of the Aguilar-Spinelli prongs in isolation. “In looking to the totality of the facts provided in the affidavit at issue, together with the reasonable inferences to be drawn from them, we do not see a substantial basis for concluding that drugs were then on defendant’s ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Stephens