Being falsely detained or imprisoned against your will can be grounds for civil litigation. Here at JGL we have decades of experience and many attorneys who represent clients held against their will without just cause.
What Qualifies as False Arrest in Maryland?
A false arrest is an arrest that is made without a warrant, or without probable cause. Although it is possible to sue law enforcement officials for false arrest, typically those who are typically sued for false arrest include businesses, private citizens, private security, or bounty hunters. To explore this concept, consider the following false arrest definition.
What is False Arrest?
A false arrest is an arrest that is made without a warrant, or with a lack of probable cause. A person will sometimes sue on the grounds of false arrest, if the charges against him have been dropped. This is because there may never have been a legitimate reason to arrest him in the first place.
The Case Against Unlawful Detention
Unlawful detention means that someone is being held in custody without lawful justification. This can happen if officers lie to get a warrant, use excessive force, do not have a reasonable belief or probable cause, or detain someone for an unreasonable amount of time. Unlawful detention can also be done maliciously by abusing the procedure for a lawful arrest. It is unlawful for a police officer to detain an accused person where he can release him on warning or police bail.
False Imprisonment examples can include:
- Locking a person in a room without permission
- Restraining someone so that they are unable to move or leave the premises
- Detaining someone for an unreasonable period of time
- Detaining an employee for an unreasonable period of time when a theft is suspected
- Holding someone hostage
- Holding something of great value to a person, with the intent of coercing them to stay in a certain place
Know Your Rights Regarding False Imprisonment
If you feel that you have been unreasonably detained or retrained, or arrested without probable cause, or the issue of a warrant, you should discuss your situation with an attorney experienced in false arrest and false imprisonment in order to determine if a lawsuit might be successful.
Filing a Lawsuit for False Arrest
Please note, that time is of great importance when suing the government. You should not delay pursuing legal guidance.
In order to successfully prepare the filing of a false arrest matter you need to discuss the matter with an attorney with significant, successful false arrest experience, and gather evidence, witness statements, surveillance footage and relevant documents that support your claim.
Prove that the intent was to detain you, that you were aware that you were being detained, that you were detained against your will, and that your detention was not legally justified.
File suit within the statute of limitations.
Recover Damages for False Imprisonment
Action for damages in false imprisonment flows from the unlawful detention. A plaintiff who has suffered injuries can be compensated for physical injuries, mental suffering, loss of income, injury to reputation, reasonable and necessary expenses incurred like attorneys’ fees and deprivation of any right caused by the loss of liberty.
Consult a Maryland False Arrest Lawyer
When you have been wrongly detained, you should consult with an experienced Maryland False Arrest attorney as soon as possible.
What matters to you, matters to us. For over five decades, JGL attorneys have fought to improve the future of families, the arc of careers, the success of business, and your most basic human rights. The attorneys of JGL take your business, family, and personal issues as personally as you do. We relentlessly pursue the outcomes you desire. If you need guidance from a Maryland false arrest attorney, contact JGL.
