Gerstein v. Pugh

The Court noted that in many instances, the government is permitted to act without the review of a judicial authority. The Court stated that “a policeman’s on-the-scene assessment of probable cause provides legal justification for arresting a person suspected of crime, and for a brief period of detention to take the administrative steps incident to arrest. Once the suspect is in custody, however, the reasons that justify dispensing with the magistrate’s neutral judgment evaporate.” At some point, the government’s need to secure the defendant subsides and “the suspect’s need for a neutral determination of probable cause increases significantly.” Based on these factors the Court held that “the Fourth Amendment requires a judicial determination of probable cause as a prerequisite to extended restraint of liberty following arrest.” The fact that the prosecutor found substantial evidence to warrant a prosecution does not afford the citizen the protections contemplated in the Fourth Amendment.