FALSE IMPRISONMENT. The wrongful violation of the right of personal liberty by de tention or restraint of a person without author ity of law. While', ordinarily, it takes the form of confinement in a prison, jail, or police station, actual incarceration is not necessary to the of fense. Nor is assault or personal violence. It may be committed by words or gestures operating upon the will of a person, so that his liberty of action is illegally limited. A man may be falsely imprisoned in an open street, as when he is accosted by an officer and told that he is a prisoner. But an illegal interference with his right of passage along a highway does not amount to false imprisonment if he is free to proceed by some other way. The victim of false imprisonment may regain his liberty by a writ of habeas corpus (q.v.). and is entitled to dam ages in an action in tort (q.v.) from the wrong doer. The wrongdoer is liable to criminal pros ecution by indictment (q.v.).
The defendant, in a civil or criminal action for false imprisonment, must (after the plaintiff has made out a prima facie ease) prove either that the imprisonment was not his act, or that it was justified. He must do more than prove that he did not apply the restraint; he must show that he did not direct, instigate, authorize, or adopt the proceedings connected with the imprisonment.
All persons taking part in a fake imprisonment, whether instigators, officers, or agents, are liable as joint wrongdoers; although, as in every ease of joint tort, the injured party has his option to join all or any number of the wrongdoers in a single action, or to bring separate actions against each. A person is not liable for false imprison
ment who does no more than make a complaint to a magistrate or a police officer, if the judge or the policeman thereupon takes independent action.
Whether a judicial officer is liable, civilly, for a false imprisonment which he has ordered, de pends upon whether hglms acted with or without jurisdiction. If he was absolutely without juris diction, he is liable; otherwise not, even though lie may have acted maliciously. For the corrupt or malicious misconduct of all officer, when acting in a judicial capacity, the only punishment is impeachment or removal from office. An im prisonment by a sheriff, constable, policeman, or similar officer is justified: (1) When made under an apparently regular warrant issued by a judge having apparent jurisdiction of the matter; (2) when made without a judicial warrant, but upon reasonable suspicion of felony, even though a felony has not been committed, or of a person committing a breach of peace in the officer's pres ence. An imprisonment by a private citizen is justifiable at common law only when made of one committing a breach of the peace in his presence, or of one who be has reasonable cause to believe is guilty of a felony which has been actually committed. These rules of the common law have been modified by modern statutes in many juris dictions. Consult Stephen, History of the Crim inal Law of England (London, 1883), and the authorities referred to under TORT, and MA LICIOUS PROSECUTION.