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Michigan v. Summers - Significance, Detention While Search Is Conducted Is Reasonable, An Unwarranted Extension Of Terry, Impact

petitioner home warrant william

Petitioner

State of Michigan

Respondent

George Summers

Petitioner's Claim

That a valid warrant to search a person's home also allows the police officers conducting the search to detain the homeowner while the search is being conducted.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Timothy A. Baughman

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Gerald M. Lorence

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens (writing for the Court), Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Potter Stewart

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

22 June 1981

Decision

That a warrant to search a home carries with it an implicit authority on the part of the officers executing the warrant to detain the occupants of the home while the search is being conducted.

Related Cases

  • Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).
  • Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143 (1972).
  • Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980).
  • Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997).

Further Readings

  • Dressler, Joshua. Understanding Criminal Procedure. New York: Matthew Bender & Co., 1991.
  • LaFave, Wayne R. Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment, 3rd ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1996.
  • Riggs, Jenny L. "Excluding Automobile Passengers from Fourth Amendment Protection." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, spring 1998, p. 957.

Additional Topics

Michigan v. Summers - Significance

The Court's decision made it much easier and safer for police officers to conduct searches of homes. The decision allows officers to detain the occupants of the home while a search is being conducted so that the occupants cannot interfere with the search, destroy evidence, or threaten the safety of the officers. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that the "right of the…

Michigan v. Summers - Detention While Search Is Conducted Is Reasonable

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Michigan courts, concluding that the Fourth Amendment allows the police to detain a person while they search his house. The Court began its analysis by noting that its decision in Terry recognized that, in certain situations, the police do not need probable cause to detain a person for a limited amount of time. The Court also noted that, since its dec…

Michigan v. Summers - An Unwarranted Extension Of Terry

Justice Stewart, writing an opinion joined by Justices Brennan and Marshall, dissented from the Court's decision and concluded that the decision was an unwarranted extension of the Terry rule. Justice Stewart noted that the Court allowed a detention based on less than probable cause in only two situations: where the officers had reason to believe that the person detained was carrying a weapon and …

Michigan v. Summers - Impact

Minneapolis Star v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue - Significance, Equal Treatment Of The Press, Benefit Or Burden?, Impact [next] [back] Michigan v. Long - Significance, Deciding The Court's Jurisdiction, Reaction To The "plain Statement" Rule

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