reasonable grounds
Sufficient supporting evidence
Reasonable grounds is a legal standard requiring sufficient factual basis to justify an action or belief—more than mere suspicion but less than certainty.
Police need reasonable grounds to make an arrest; immigration officials need them to detain someone.
The phrase emphasizes that the basis must be defensible to an objective observer: The officer had reasonable grounds to search the vehicle.
Outside legal contexts, it means having adequate justification for a conclusion or decision.
- probable causeLegal threshold for searches
- search warrantDocument permitting lawful premises examination
- justificationReason proving rightness
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
basis · warrant · belief · honest belief · good faith · legitimate · lawful · due process · sufficient · credible · logical · foundation · prima facie · merit · just cause · cause · plausible · defensible
reasonable groundsgut feeling
Instinctive sense about something
wishful thinking · prejudice · hearsay · superstition · whim
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