Kennedy, J.
. . . The issue to be resolved is whether the seizure of the person was reasonable when he was stopped and detained at some distance away from the premises to be searched when the only justification for the detention was to ensure the safety and efficacy of the search.
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In [Michigan v.] Summers[,452 U. S. 692 (1981)], the Court defined an important category of cases in which detention is allowed without probable cause to arrest for a crime. It permitted officers executing a search warrant “to detain the occupants of the premises while a proper search is conducted.” . . . .
In Summers and later cases the occupants detained were found within or immediately outside a residence a tthe moment the police officers executed the search warrant. . . . Here, however, petitioner left the apartment before the search began; and the police officers waited to detain him until he was almost a mile away. The issue is whether the reasoning in Summers can justify detentions beyond the immediate vicinity of the premises being searched.
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Detentions incident to the execution of a search warrant are reasonable under the Fourth Amendment because the limited intrusion on personal liberty is outweighed by the special law enforcement interests at stake. Once an individual has left the immediate vicinity of a premises to be searched, however, detentions must be justified by some other rationale. In this respect it must be noted that the District Court, as an alternative ruling, held that stopping petitioner was lawful under Terry. This opinion expresses no view on that issue. It will be open, on remand, for the Court of Appeals to address the matter and to determine whether, assuming the Terry stop was valid, it yielded information that justified the detention the officers then imposed.
ROBERTS, C. J., and SCALIA, GINSBURG, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN, JJ., joined.
SCALIA, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which GINSBURG and KAGAN, JJ., joined.
BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which THOMAS and ALITO, JJ., joined.