1. C.J.S. Arrest § 28.]
totality of the circumstances test
totality-of-the-circumstances test. Criminal procedure. A standard for determining whether hearsay (such as an informant’s tip) is sufficiently reliable to establish probable cause for an arrest or search warrant. • Under this test — which replaced Aguilar–Spinelli’s two-pronged approach — the reliability of the hearsay is weighed by focusing on the entire situation as described in the probable-cause affidavit, and not on any one specific factor. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317 (1983). Cf. AGUILAR–SPINELLI TEST. [Cases: Arrest 63.4(7); Searches and Seizures 115.
