The United States Supreme Court has stated that a police officer may stop an individual for investigation purposes when the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that a crime is being committed, is about to be committed, or has just been committed. Also, if the police officer has reasonable suspicion that the individual may be armed the officer may perform a pat-down for weapons. When the police officer makes an observation that leads him or …showed first 75 words of 590 total…

…showed last 75 words of 590 total…of Criminal Appeals is reversed for overextending the rights of a criminal defendant) (White, J.) (6-3) Note: In his dissenting opinion, Justice Stevens said: "Millions of people leave their apartments at about the same time every day carrying an attaché case and heading for a destination known to their neighbors.... This decision makes a mockery of [the 4th amendment's] protection." Reasonable suspicion depends on both the content of the information and its degree of reliability