--- title: "County of Riverside v. McLaughlin" citation: "County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991)" authority_id: "AUTH-SCOTUS-MCLAUGHLIN-500-US-44" authority_type: "case" jurisdiction: "federal_nationwide" precedential_status: "binding" official_url: "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-500/pdf/USREPORTS-500-44.pdf" url: "https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-SCOTUS-MCLAUGHLIN-500-US-44/" legal_review: "2026-08-25" links_checked: "2026-10-15" links_available: 1 links_checked_count: 1 license: "CC BY 4.0" --- # County of Riverside v. McLaughlin ## Holding used For the Fourth Amendment prompt judicial probable-cause determination required after a warrantless arrest, a determination within 48 hours generally complies, though an individual may show unreasonable delay; after 48 hours the government must demonstrate a bona fide emergency or other extraordinary circumstance. ## Material limitation The holding does not convert Rule 5's “without unnecessary delay” language or the McNabb–Mallory confession rule into a 48-hour threshold. ## Official source and pinpoint 500 U.S. 44, 56–57 (1991): ## Used in - [Initial Appearance and Pretrial Release or Detention](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/20-pretrial/initial-appearance-and-pretrial-release.md)