What standard justifies a temporary detention?

What standard justifies a temporary detention?

• A. Reasonable suspicion that the person is involved in criminal activity.
• B. Probable cause.
• C. A warrant.
• D. A hunch.

Answer: (A)

A temporary detention is justified when the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the person is involved in criminal activity. This is the Terry stop standard: it allows a brief, noncoercive detention to investigate the situation, based on specific facts and circumstances that can be explained to others. It must be grounded in more than a mere hunch and limited in duration to what is needed to confirm or dispel the suspicion. If the officer develops probable cause during the stop, they may take additional action; if not, the detention ends. Probable cause is required for an arrest or a warrant, not for a brief detention, and a mere hunch does not meet the standard.

A temporary detention is justified when the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the person is involved in criminal activity. This is the Terry stop standard: it allows a brief, noncoercive detention to investigate the situation, based on specific facts and circumstances that can be explained to others. It must be grounded in more than a mere hunch and limited in duration to what is needed to confirm or dispel the suspicion. If the officer develops probable cause during the stop, they may take additional action; if not, the detention ends. Probable cause is required for an arrest or a warrant, not for a brief detention, and a mere hunch does not meet the standard.