Which case established the totality-of-the-circumstances approach to probable cause?

The correct answer is Illinois v. Gates, which established the totality-of-the-circumstances approach to probable cause. In this landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court moved away from a more stringent, two-pronged test for determining probable cause, which was derived from an earlier ruling in Aguilar v. Texas. Instead, the Court emphasized a more holistic assessment of the situation as a whole.

The totality-of-the-circumstances approach allows law enforcement officers to consider all relevant factors together when establishing probable cause, rather than relying strictly on isolated components or rigid criteria. This paradigm shift means that an officer can evaluate the credibility of an informant alongside the corroborating evidence they have observed themselves, resulting in a more comprehensive analysis of whether probable cause is present.

This decision aimed to enable officers to act more effectively in the field while still upholding the rights of individuals, ultimately contributing to a more balanced application of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The other cases listed do not address the totality-of-the-circumstances approach in the same way. Beck v. Ohio dealt with the sufficiency of probable cause in the context of an arrest warrant, while Terry v. Ohio involved the standard for stop