Also known as: temporary detentions · temporarily detain · temporarily detaining · investigative detention
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A limited seizure of a person or property by law enforcement officers for investigative purposes. The seizure must be supported by reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and must remain brief in duration and scope. Transporting the person to a station house converts the encounter into a full arrest that requires probable cause.
Tyrone Tran was standing near a closed auto shop when officers approached on suspicion of a chop shop operation. The officers directed him into their cruiser and drove him to the station, where they placed him in a locked interview room for questioning. Because the officers moved Tran to the station house and confined him there without probable cause, the encounter became the functional equivalent of an arrest rather than a temporary detention.
Travis Tate was captured on the battlefield and held by military authorities as an enemy combatant. The government asserted that the detention served only to prevent further participation in hostilities and carried no punitive purpose. The Court treated the confinement as a form of temporary detention incident to war rather than criminal punishment.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Tonya Takahashi was observed pacing in front of a closed jewelry store late at night and repeatedly adjusting an object under her coat. An officer approached, detained her briefly on the sidewalk, and conducted a limited pat-down that revealed a concealed weapon. The brief on-street seizure qualified as a temporary detention justified by reasonable suspicion under Terry standards.
Theodore Tucker checked a suitcase at the airport that agents believed contained narcotics. Officers removed the bag from the conveyor and held it for ninety minutes while awaiting a drug-detection dog. The prolonged seizure of the luggage exceeded the permissible scope of a temporary detention of property.
Tracy Torres was stopped in her vehicle after officers developed probable cause to believe it contained contraband. The officers opened closed containers inside the car without a warrant. The search of the containers was upheld under the vehicle exception because probable cause permitted a warrantless search of the car's contents.
Timothy Tang was prevented from reentering his residence while officers obtained a search warrant based on probable cause to believe drugs were inside. Officers kept Tang outside for two hours but did not transport him or place him under formal arrest. The restraint constituted a temporary detention of the person that was reasonable under the circumstances.
Transporting a suspect to a station house for questioning converts the encounter into the functional equivalent of an arrest. Prolonged confinement in a locked room or extended duration beyond what is necessary for a brief investigation also exceeds the limits of temporary detention.
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Reasonable suspicion supported by specific and articulable facts that criminal activity is afoot permits a brief investigative detention. Mere hunches or ambiguous conduct insufficient to meet that standard do not authorize the seizure.
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A brief detention of luggage for a dog sniff is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment but may be justified by reasonable suspicion. Unreasonable delay in conducting the sniff, such as a ninety-minute hold, renders the detention unconstitutional.
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A merchant may briefly detain a suspected shoplifter for a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner to investigate. Excessive duration or unnecessary force, such as handcuffing a minor for an hour, exceeds the privilege and exposes the merchant to liability.
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…furnishes no basis for an arrest, although it may alert the officer to the need for continued observation. In my view, it is temporary detention, warranted by the circumstances, which chiefly justifies the protective frisk for weapons. Perhaps the frisk itself, where proper, will have beneficial results whether questions are asked…