What legal standard is higher than reasonable suspicion but lower than probable cause?

The correct answer is the concept of suspicion, which refers to a belief or feeling that something may be wrong, but it does not meet the threshold of reasonable suspicion. In the context of law enforcement, suspicion is more ambiguous and less defined than reasonable suspicion, which requires specific and articulable facts that lead an officer to suspect that a crime is being or will be committed.

Reasonable suspicion is essential for a police officer to initiate an investigative stop or detention, while probable cause is the standard needed for obtaining a warrant or making an arrest. The legal standard for probable cause is higher; it requires facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been committed or that evidence of a crime will be found in the place to be searched.

Suspicion, therefore, serves as a lower standard that falls between a mere hunch and the concrete requirements of reasonable suspicion. It is important to understand that while suspicion may guide an officer's intuition, it does not provide the legal justification needed to act in a way that impacts an individual's rights as significantly as reasonable suspicion or probable cause would.