The case involved a class action alleging that the county had violated the Fourth Amendment rights of persons arrested without warrants by failing to provide them with prompt judicial determinations of probable cause. The majority ultimately held that a period of 48 hours after arrest, inclusive of weekends and holidays, was the maximum outside limitation. However, a dissent and much subsequent literature supported a 24-hour standard. Although McLaughlin has apparently been read by some as a strong bright-line case, this is highly debatable, particularly for selected jurisdictions. When read on the while, the final standard is merely one of rebuttable presumption of constitutional compliance if judicial intervention to assess probable cause occurs within 48 hours of arrest. Local law enforcement agencies and jurisdictions must recognize that wholesale reliance on the 48-hour standard does not give enough deference to the specific fact context of the case or to Justice O'Connor's caveat that the rule stated is not hard and fast in every case. A more readily understood and easily applied rule would ultimately prove less problematic and of greater general benefit to individual and government interests alike. In addition, a clear standard on the exact procedure necessary for the communication of probable cause from police officer to magistrate would further develop the law related to initial court appearances. Footnotes