detention Hear it!

detention definition - legal

n

The act of keeping an individual imprisoned or in custody.
preventive detention
The holding in custody of an accused criminal or mentally ill individual who is deemed to be a threat to him- or herself or to others, or to represent a flight risk.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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