The Aguilar-Spinelli test

The Aguilar-Spinelli test was a judicial guideline set down by the Supreme Court of the United States for evaluation of the validity of a search warrant based on information by provided by a confidential informant or an anonymous tip. The Supreme Court abandoned the Auguilar-Spinelli test in Illinois v. Gates, in favor of a rule that evaluates the reliability of the information under the "totality of the circumstances."

The two “prongs” of the test are that, when law enforcement seeks a search warrant and a magistrate signs a warrant:

1. The magistrate must be informed of the reasons to support the conclusion that such an informant is reliable and creditable.
2. The magistrate must be informed of some of the underlying circumstances relied on by the person providing the information.^[1]

This information provided to a magistrate will allow the magistrate to make an independent evaluation of the probable cause that a crime has been or will be committed.