Michigan v. Summers

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 decision in Terry, the Court had expanded the Terry rule to allow limited detentions in a number of circumstances. As the Court explained, "[t]hese cases recognized that some seizures admittedly covered by the Fourth Amendment constitute such limited intrusions on the personal security of those detained and are justified by such substantial law enforcement interests that they may be made on less than probable cause." Relying on these cases, the Court concluded that the detention of Summers was limited and was justified by substantial law enforcement interests.

First, the Court found that the detention was limited because the police had secured a search warrant for the home, which was supported by probable cause. The Court reasoned that detaining Summers was less intrusive than the search of his home, which the police had authority to conduct. The Court also reasoned that police are unlikely to abuse the power to detain someone while the home is being searched by prolonging the detention to gain information because the information sought by the police will be obtained through the search itself. Finally, the Court reasoned that the detention was of a limited nature because most citizens will choose to be present to witness the search of their homes, unless they intend to flee in order to avoid arrest following the search. Also, the Court concluded that substantial law enforcement interests justified the police officers' detention of Summers while they searched his home. The Court noted that allowing officers to detain the owner while the search is being conducted allows the officers to prevent attempts to flee the scene if the search reveals evidence of wrongdoing. Also, detention of the homeowner while the home is searched protects the officers' safety, and allows the police to search the home in a more orderly fashion because the owner may be asked to open locked doors or containers.

Having concluded that Summers could be detained while the search was conducted on less than probable cause, the Court also concluded that the existence of the search warrant itself provided sufficient reasonable suspicion, as required under the Terry rule, to allow the officers to detain Summers. Thus, the Court held that "a warrant to search for contraband founded on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited authority to detain the occupants of the premises while a proper search is conducted."