NCJ Number
178334
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 68 Issue: 8 Dated: August 1999 Pages: 26-31
Date Published
1999
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Investigative detention is discussed in terms of case law in which courts have focused on detentions of persons or items taken from the person's immediate possession and have addressed the specific question of the duration of such a detention in determining whether a seizure of a person has become a de facto arrest.
Abstract
The focus of these judicial decisions has included the actual duration of the detention, the actions taken by the police officers in the case, the actions taken by the person detained, the actions the police officers could have taken in the case, and how diligently the police officers conducted their investigations. The courts have decided that the seizure is unreasonable in the absence of the existence or probable cause if a de facto arrest has occurred or if an item is taken from a person's immediate possession on a non-temporary basis. Courts have generally decided that investigative detentions of 90 minutes or more have been unreasonable in the absence of probable cause. In addition, an investigative detention of short duration may be invalid if other factors exist that make it a de facto arrest and probable cause does not exist. The United States Supreme Court has most directly addressed the issue of the duration of an investigative detention in United States v. Place and United States v. Sharpe. Other appellate court and Supreme Court decisions have included United States v. Puglisi, United States v. Frost, and Florida v. Royer. Photographs and reference notes