Experimental. Doctrines is a new Annlex feature, starting with four areas: Self-incrimination, Brady, Terry and Miranda. Each page collects what courts have said about a leading case, quoted from the opinions that cite it. Annlex Chat uses these collections to help find relevant cases; what a case holds still comes from its opinion. We'd like to hear what's useful, missing or wrong: Send feedback
Informant's tip as reasonable suspicion for Terry stop and protective frisk
Leading case
Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143 (1972)
How courts have described it
holding that a known informant’s on-the-spot tip about a gun in a suspect’s waistband established reasonable suspicion for officer to reach into suspect’s car and remove the gun
United States v. Scott Payne, 181 F.3d 781 (6th Cir. 1999)
allowing an officer to forcibly stop a suspect to investigate an informant's tip indicating that the suspect was armed and carrying narcotics even though the informant's tip did not give the officer probable cause to make an arrest
United States v. Deborah B. Burns, A/K/A Mary Jennings, 37 F.3d 276 (7th Cir. 1995)
holding that a Terry stop was justified when an informant told a police officer that an individual in a nearby vehicle was carrying drugs and weapons
United States v. Lewis, 40 F.3d 1325 (1st Cir. 1994)
holding that officer had particularized suspicion that defendant was armed and presently dangerous where a known informant reported moments earlier that the defendant was carrying narcotics and a concealed weapon, and defendant was sitting alone in a car in a high-crime area at 2:15 a.m.
United States v. Michelletti, 13 F.3d 838 (5th Cir. 1994)
informant's tip that occupant of vehicle carrying narcotics and gun justified forcible detention
United States v. Bisram Sugrim, 732 F.2d 25 (2d Cir. 1984)
"we believe that Sgt. Connolly acted justifiably in responding to his informant's tip. The informant was known to him personally and had provided him with information in the past. This is a stronger case than obtains in the case of an anonymous telephone tip.”
United States v. Alvarez, 694 F. Supp. 734 (C.D. Cal. 1988)
concluding that an officer "acted justifiably" in responding to an informant's tip as "[t]he informant was known to him personally" and gave information "that was immediately verifiable at the scene"
State v. Michael Gene Wiskowski, 2024 WI 23 (Wis. 2024)
holding that officer was justified when he reached into suspect’s waistband based on informant’s tip that suspect was storing a gun in his waistband
Newman v. United States (D.C. 2021)
where the Supreme Court made clear that the information justifying an investigative stop can be derived from sources of information, such as an informant's tip
State v. Stuart, 452 S.E.2d 886 (W. Va. 1994)
upholding protective search based on an informant's tip that suspect seated in car was carrying narcotics and had "a gun at his waist."
State v. Lund, 573 A.2d 1376 (N.J. 1990)
Related doctrines
- Anonymous tip corroborated by police observation as basis for reasonable suspicion
- Protective sweep of a vehicle's passenger compartment (vehicle frisk)
- Reasonable, Articulable Suspicion for Stops and Frisks
- Terry frisk scope — pat-down prerequisite to pocket intrusion
About this page
The quotations above are from court opinions that cite the leading case, in each court's own words. The heading is a short label Annlex generated from those quotations. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer and is not legal advice.