A false drug arrest takes place under the category of an unjust arrest or unlawful imprisonment, and occurs when someone wrongfully holds you against your will or takes you right into detention for drugs. A lot of false arrests generally begins as a false accusation, wherein an unverified or unconfirmed allegation is made against a particular person. False accusations occur as the conclusion of willful lying or accidental situations involving unreliable details. It could also occur due to deliberate or unexpected suggestive questioning, or poor interviewing methods.
False arrest and, in some situation, faulty accusations, are criminal activities and a public harm, enabling the victim to sue for problems in a civil lawsuit.
Cops Committing False Arrests
Numerous individuals believe that whenever authorities commit false arrest, they commonly have a severe lack of evidence or proof– but this is not the standard. Both private individuals and law enforcement authorities can make this unlawful act when they behave beyond or outside of the scope of their authority. An example would be if a cop apprehends somebody because that individual ridiculed the officer or did something the officer really did not like. Since it is not illegal to disrespect a policeman, the officer is just the one who is acting illegally. In this circumstance, it is possible, though highly unlikely, that a prosecutor could charge the officer involved with false arrest.
It should be kept in mind that the accused has no right to resist arrest, even if they knew that the basis for the arrest was untrue. Physically resisting such an arrest might put the defendant behind bars, and it is for this reason alone that most criminal defense attorneys counsel their client never to physically resist an arrest. Doing so can easily result in you being harmed, arrested and jailed, because only a court can decide if an arrest is legal or illegal.
Private Persons Committing Unlawful arrest.
Anyone who restrains someone else without that person’s consent and without lawful authority is guilty of false arrest, which includes private individuals like a security guard. Private security guards are legally permitted to temporarily detain someone suspected of burglary in order to examine the scenario or hold that person until the police shows up, but only if they are fairly certain that the person is shoplifting.
Let’s say that a security guard approaches a shopper and didn’t see the shopper exit with unpaid items (nor did anyone else). If he were to exert force, the threat of force, or otherwise limits the shopper without consent or lawful reason, the guard is committing false imprisonment.
The Difference between False Arrests and Bad Arrests
Try to imagine someone whom the police detained based on another person’s testimony. The evidence later shows the sworn declaration was false or the person without reservation lied. If the police arrests the person on a warrant issued as a result of invented statements, this is described as a “bad arrest.”
You see, as long as the judge found the statement reasonable during that time, the police acted correctly in making the arrest. If a court finds out the truth, the defendant is released. In this circumstance, there is no chance the released defendant can take legal action and sue the police for false arrest; however, the individual making the false allegations may be sued for any harm endured, along with being apprehended and imprisoned for swearing a false oath.
You Can Sue for False Accusations
The effect of false accusations is detrimental to a person’s credibility. Common types of false allegations include child abuse, drug abuse, and pretty much the commission of any crime. A victim of false allegation can sue for defamation, which may either be in the type of slander, libel or defamation of character.
Defamation of character involves the act of making untrue statements about a person which blemishes or taints his/her reputation. Defamation of character can either be libel or slander. Slander is an untrue statement created with the objective of harming someone’s credibility or reputation. To be successful in court, the individual must have made the statements maliciously to damage the reputation of a person for their own personal reasons. Libel implies any false and harmful published statements with the intent of ruin someone’s reputation. Like slander, to prove libel in court it needs to be revealed that the published allegations were not only disparaging and offensive but also made in malice.
False complaint is considered by the courts as being in the defamatory category, and damages for such false statements are presumed and do not have to be validated. You can properly sue somebody for wrongly accusing you of acts that did not happen or actions which did happen but you are wrongly being accused. These persons can include law enforcement agents that acted without probable cause or anyone who shows malicious intent. The matter of false allegation in the criminal sphere is so severe that proof of loss does not have to be shown by the victim before they can receive damages.
Disregarding a Civil Right
When a person has been falsely apprehended, they sometimes file a charge alleging a violation of their humans rights, otherwise pertained to as “Section 1983” suits. They are called this because they were named after the federal law, United States code section 1983, and because of this they are tried in a federal district court.
Individuals most typically file 1983 cases after the use of excessive or unreasonable force although acting in their official capacity, referred to as acting “under color of law.” If the police, for example, secure a warrant to search your home and, while executing the search, opt to use mace on you and your family while you were complaining, their excessive force violated your legal civil rights and you can sue them. If, however, you get into a fight with a non-uniformed, off-duty policeman, that officer is probably not acting as a representative of the state and you probably can’t sue for civil rights infractions.
Why You Need A Lawyer
If you feel you’ve been apprehended, related to drug cases without basis, or if you feel the cops are behaving outside their proper authority, you should speak with a criminal defense lawyer as quickly as possible. You ought to never create any statements or file a complaint with the police or private investigators until you’ve had an opportunity to talk with a legal representative. If you feel your rights have been disregarded because of a false drug arrest, or you need someone to represent you against illegal charges, contact a defense lawyer as soon as possible
