Law Dictionary Definitions

false news.Hist. The misdemeanor of spreading false information that causes discord between the monarch and the people or between important people in the realm.3 Edw. 1, ch. 34.[Blacks Law 8th]

false misrepresentation.See MISREPRESENTATION. • This phrase is redundant, since misrepresentation includes the idea of falsity.[Blacks Law 8th]

False Memory Syndrome Foundation.An organization of parents who claim that their adult children have falsely accused them of childhood sexual abuse. • The organization was formed for the purpose of aiding persons who claim to have been wrongly accused as a result of the recovery of repressed memories. — Abbr. FMSF. Cf. VICTIMS OF CHILD…

false-memory syndrome.The supposed recovery of memories of traumatic or stressful episodes that did not actually occur, often in session with a mental-health therapist. • This term is most frequently applied to claims by adult children that repressed memories of prolonged and repeated child sexual abuse, usu. by parents, have surfaced, even though there is no…

false making.See FORGERY(1).[Blacks Law 8th]

false light. 1.Torts. In an invasion-of-privacy action, a plaintiff’s allegation that the defendant attributed to the plaintiff views that he or she does not hold and placed the plaintiff before the public in a highly offensive and untrue manner. • If the matter involves the public interest, the plaintiff must prove the defendant’s malice. See…

false judgment.Hist. A writ filed to obtain review of a judgment of a court not of record. “After judgment given, a writ also of false judgment lies to the courts at Westminster to rehear and review the cause, and not a writ of error; for this is not a court of record ….” 3 William…

false imprisonment.A restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law misdemeanor and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention. Cf. false arrest under ARREST. [Cases: False Imprisonment 2.] “[In the phrase false imprisonment,] false is … used not in the ordinary sense…

false-implication libel.See LIBEL.[Blacks Law 8th]

false impersonation.See IMPERSONATION.[Blacks Law 8th]