FALSE IMPRISONMENT

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 of mendacious

or fallacious, but in the less common though well-established sense of erroneous or wrong; as in

the phrases false quantity, false step, false taste, etc.” R.F.V. Heuston, Salmond on the Law of

Torts 123 n.38 (17th ed. 1977).

“False imprisonment was a misdemeanor at common law and is recognized by some states

today. It differs from kidnapping in that asportation is not required. If the imprisonment is secret,

some jurisdictions treat it as kidnapping.” Arnold H. Loewy, Criminal Law in a Nutshell 65 (2d ed.

1987).

“Some courts have described false arrest and false imprisonment as causes of action which

are distinguishable only in terminology. The two have been called virtually indistinguishable, and

identical. However, the difference between them lies in the manner in which they arise. In order to

commit false imprisonment, it is not necessary either to intend to make an arrest or actually to

make an arrest. By contrast, a person who is falsely arrested is at the same time falsely

imprisoned.” 32 Am. Jur. 2d False Imprisonment § 3 (1995).[Blacks Law 8th]