| The world of torts is designed to protect a person | | | | making one's escape. In other instances, an open door |
| from injuries to the self and to the property. These | | | | guarded by burly or threatening individuals may be |
| claims vary and involve a variety of different forms of | | | | enough to constitute confinement. |
| liability but they all involve civil protection to the person | | | | If a person is confined, he or she does not have to be |
| and property. | | | | actually aware of the confinement or even be harmed |
| Some of the protections offered to a person can | | | | by it in order to have the claim. It is merely necessary |
| apply in both the civil and criminal realms. One of the | | | | that the confinement be actual, not that the individual |
| claims that has some sort of mirror in the criminal | | | | be aware of the confinement at the time it is occurring. |
| world is false imprisonment. False imprisonment is, | | | | False imprisonment claims can be filed against both |
| according to Black's Law Dictionary, a "restraint of a | | | | private individuals, like kidnappers, or the government |
| person in a bounded area without justification or | | | | itself. Both groups are subject to liability if they hold |
| consent." | | | | someone unlawfully without consent. |
| In order to have a claim for false imprisonment, one | | | | In addition to the civil claim, if the imprisonment is |
| must meet all of the elements of the claim. Because | | | | severe enough, it can be raised by a prosecutor as a |
| false imprisonment is an intentional tort, the plaintiff | | | | misdemeanor, in most jurisdictions. The criminal charges |
| must be able to show that there was some form of | | | | can be brought even if civil charges have already |
| intention to confine the person that was held or | | | | been filed. The same works in reverse. The two |
| another person within the boundaries that were fixed | | | | claims can be brought because they work in different |
| by the defendant. For this type of claim, recklessness | | | | realms of law. In addition, civil suits do not threaten a |
| is sufficient. | | | | person's liberty and so there is no issue with double |
| Once intent has been proven, it is necessary to prove | | | | jeopardy. |
| that there is total restraint of the individual. The claimant | | | | False imprisonment is one of numerous personal injury |
| must have no reasonable way of escaping. So the | | | | lawsuits. It protects an individual's personal interest in |
| door can be locked, etc. Jumping out of a window on | | | | being able to move from place to place as he or she |
| a high storey does not count as a reasonable way of | | | | sees fit. |