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]