Intentional torts: arrest and confinement

Question 1

False imprisonment

Answer 1

A plaintiff may bring a false imprisonment claim if:

(1) The defendant intended to confine or restrain the defendant within fixed boundaries;
(2) The actions directly or indirectly resulted in confinement; and
(3) The plaintiff is conscious of the confinement or harmed by it.

The plaintiff can seek both nominal and actual damages.

Question 2

False imprisonment: shopkeeper’s privilege

Answer 2

A shopkeeper can, for a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, detain a suspected shoplifter.

Question 3

False imprisonment: intent to confine

Answer 3

Intent to confine is:

(1) having the purpose of confining the plaintiff; or
(2) knowing that the plaintiff’s confinement is substantially certain to result.

The requisite intent to confine can include a defendant’s failure to perform a duty to help a person escape.

Question 4

Private citizen arrests: felonies

Answer 4

A private citizen may use reasonable force in making an arrest if:

(1) The offense is a felony;
(2) The felony has actually been committed; and
(3) The arresting party has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person being arrested has committed the felony.

It is a defense to make a reasonable mistake as to the identity of the felon.

But it is not a defense to make a mistake as to whether the felony was actually committed.

Question 5

Police arrests: felonies

Answer 5

A police officer must:

(1) reasonably believe that a felony has been committed; and
(2) reasonably believe the person arrested committed it.

An officer is not liable at tort for a mistake as to whether a felony has been committed.

Question 6

Misdemeanor arrests

Answer 6

A police officer may only make an arrest if the misdemeanor was committed in the officer’s presence.

A private citizen can only make an arrest if there is a “breach of the peace.”

Question 7

False imprisonment: restraints

Answer 7

The defendant may confine or restrain the plaintiff by the use of:

• physical barriers;
• physical force;
• direct or indirect threats—to the plaintiff, a third party, or plaintiff’s property;
• failure to provide a means of escape; or
• invalid use of legal authority.

But the defendant’s use of moral pressure or future threats does not constitute confinement or restraint, and a plaintiff is not imprisoned if she willingly submits to confinement.