Opinion ID: 1730903
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the informant's veracity

Text: The veracity prong of the Aguilar test was usually established by the prior record of the informant in providing reliable tips that proved accurate. See, e.g., McCray v. Illinois, 386 U.S. 300, 87 S.Ct. 1056, 18 L.Ed.2d 62 (1967) (officer testified that he had been acquainted with informant for about a year and that during this period informant had supplied him with information 15 or 16 times which resulted in numerous arrests and convictions; another officer also testified that he had used the same informant 20 to 25 times which led to many convictions). Only if the informant's credibility could not be established was it necessary to consider the alternative reliability spur of the veracity prong of Aguilar. See United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573, 91 S.Ct. 2075, 29 L.Ed.2d 723 (1971) (holding that declaration against interest meets reliability spur).