detainer

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Detainer (from detain, Latin detinere); in law, the act of keeping a person against his will, or the wrongful keeping of a person's goods, or other real or personal property. A writ of detainer was a form for the beginning of a personal action against a person already lodged within the walls of a prison; it was superseded by the Judgment Act 1838.

In a more current context, a detainer is a writ issued by a law enforcement agency for the detention of an individual until that agency can lawfully take custody of that individual. Most times a correctional/detention institution or jail will check its database and databases of other agencies for detainers from other agencies before releasing an inmate, detainee, or resident in its custody. For example, the U.S. Marshal Service will not release an inmate if a legal detainer exists from the State of Tennessee until the detainer is confirmed and custody is transferred or the detainer is pronounced null.

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This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.