You may have heard a bit about false imprisonment but how much do you really know? Legally speaking, there are two types of “false imprisonment”: civil and criminal. In civil court, for example, a store loss prevention employee could be sued for detaining someone without reasonable justification. On the other hand, someone could be arrested for the crime of false imprisonment and be sent to criminal court if he unlawfully violates the personal liberty of another. What does that mean? Well, over the many years of practicing criminal defense, we've found several examples that will change the way you look at the crime of false imprisonment:
- A man is guilty of misdemeanor false imprisonment, not felony false imprisonment, if he uses minimal physical restraint in holding a woman's arm after a heated argument and refuses to let her leave.
- A person is guilty of felony false imprisonment under California law, if he unlawfully confines, restrains, or detains a person, by means of menace, violence or fraud.
- False imprisonment is both a crime and a civil wrong, which can result in a lawsuit. As a misdemeanor crime, the maximum sentence is one year in prison. As a felony, the maximum is three years.
- Kidnapping is a crime that is closely related to false imprisonment, however, it requires movement.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for false imprisonment in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar, Perris, Banning, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, or Riverside, contact us for a free consultation. We can help!