Question: Can someone be detained while police await a warrant to search a residence and what constitutes legal detainment?
Answer: Yes. The police may detain an individual for a short period of time while awaiting a search warrant. The amount of time to get a warrant is usually short, because judges are are typically on-call at all times of day to handle emregency requests for warrants. Officers often make their emergency requests directly from the field by mobile phone. If the warrant is ultimately denied by the Judge, the suspect must be released as soon as possible.
To be detained by the police, the officers need only restrict you from leaving someplace. You do not have to be kept in a police station or police car to be detained. The legal test is whether you 'feel free to leave.' If you do not feel as though you are free to leave, then you are being detained.
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