To make an arrest and prosecute an individual in criminal court, the police and the prosecutor must possess enough evidence to lead a reasonable person to believe that the charge is probably true. This fundamental legal standard is commonly referred to as “probable cause.” Brueckner’s announcement that Calvin Smith would not be prosecuted because of a lack of probable cause was, and remains, hard to fathom. It would have been a challenging case to present to a jury, and it might have ended with Smith being acquitted. But rapists have been charged, prosecuted, tried, and legitimately convicted
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