Also known as: adequate causes · sufficient cause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A basis that meets the legal threshold for permitting an action or finding when supporting facts demonstrate the required causal link or hazard. The basis exists when the actor's conduct subjects another to the precise risk that later materializes as harm or when affidavits establish grounds for further proceedings.
Aaron Adams rolled through a stop sign at a blinking red light. An officer on a narcotics task force observed the violation from fifty yards away in daylight and pulled him over. The officer immediately asked for consent to search the car for drugs rather than issuing a citation. The stop rested on adequate cause because the observed traffic violation supplied an objective basis regardless of the officer's other investigative goals.
Anika Anand, a public employee, circulated a questionnaire criticizing office policies. Her supervisor fired her the next day citing the questionnaire. Adequate cause for the termination existed only if the speech did not address a matter of public concern. Otherwise the firing raised constitutional questions under the governing standard.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Alfred Ashford, a state college instructor, received notice that his contract would not be renewed. He claimed a property interest in continued employment. Adequate cause for a hearing existed only if state law or university rules secured an entitlement to the position beyond a mere subjective expectancy.
Amber Alonzo obtained an ex parte divorce in Nevada after a short stay. Her former husband remained domiciled in New York. Adequate cause existed for New York to enforce a support order against him because the state retained an interest in protecting its long-term domiciliary despite the foreign decree.
Negligence is a legally sufficient cause when the defendant's conduct subjects the plaintiff to the very type of hazard that later produces the injury. The flood or storm does not break the chain if it merely triggers the precise risk the negligence created.
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No. When two forces operate at the same time and each alone would suffice, the defendant's negligence may still be treated as a substantial factor. The presence of another adequate cause does not automatically relieve the negligent actor.
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A traffic violation supplies adequate cause whenever an officer has probable cause to believe it occurred. The stop remains valid even if the officer's subjective goal is to investigate other crimes.
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…provided that the respondent's employment was to terminate on June 30. They did not provide for contract renewal absent "sufficient cause." Indeed, they made no provision for renewal whatsoever. Thus, the terms of the respondent's appointment secured absolutely no interest in re-employment for the next year. They supported…