DETENTION

detention,n.1.  The  act  or  fact  of  holding  a  person  in  custody;  confinement  or  compulsory

delay. — detain,vb.

investigative   detention.The   holding   of   a   suspect   without   formal   arrest   during   the

investigation of the suspect’s participation in a crime. • Detention of this kind is constitutional only

if probable cause exists.

pretrial  detention.  1.  The  holding  of  a  defendant  before  trial  on  criminal  charges  either

because  the  established  bail  could  not  be  posted  or  because  release  was  denied.  2.  In  a

juvenile-delinquency case, the court’s authority to hold in custody, from the initial hearing until the

probable-cause hearing, any juvenile charged with an act that, if committed by an adult, would be

a crime. • If the court finds that releasing the juvenile would create a serious risk that before the

return date the juvenile might commit a criminal act, it may order the juvenile detained pending a

probable-cause  hearing.  Juveniles  do  not  have  a  constitutional  right to  bail.  The  Supreme  Court

upheld  the  constitutionality  of  such  statutes  in  Schall  v.  Martin,  467  U.S.  253,  104  S.Ct.  2403

(1984). — Also termed temporary detention.

preventive detention.Confinement imposed usu. on a criminal defendant who has threatened

to  escape,  poses  a  risk  of  harm,  or  has  otherwise  violated  the  law  while  awaiting  trial,  or  on  a

mentally ill person who may cause harm.

2. Custody of property; esp., an employee’s custody of the employer’s property without being

considered as having legal possession of it. [Blacks Law 8th]