Know Your Rights

False Imprisonment and the Duty to Bring Arrested Persons Before a Magistrate

• It has become common practice for arrested individuals to be taken to a jail or police station to be processed before being released.
• This process of imprisonment and release without going before a magistrate is condemned as a violation of due process of law.
• The Supreme Court of Illinois ruled that officers who imprison individuals without authority or proper procedures are liable for false imprisonment.
• Similarly, the Supreme Court of North Carolina stated that officers cannot imprison individuals until they deem it suitable to release them, as this constitutes despotism.
• Officers who make an arrest have a duty to bring the arrested person before a magistrate, and release can only be done by judicial authority, not executive discretion.
• If a person is arrested pursuant to a warrant, they must be taken to a magistrate before being released.
• The Federal Court ruled that a chief of police acted improperly when he released individuals on bail without a hearing before a judge.
• Accepting release or being released at one's request does not waive the right to take legal action for false imprisonment.
• Good faith does not excuse an unauthorized arrest, nor does it justify an unreasonable detention caused by a failure to bring the arrested person before a magistrate.
• It is dangerous and irresponsible for officers to drop off arrested individuals at a police station or jail without bringing them before a judge themselves.
• The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that officers cannot rely on others to perform their duty of bringing the prisoner before a judge, as they are responsible for the arrested person.
• The defense in cases of false imprisonment often revolves around whether the delay in bringing the arrested person before a magistrate was reasonable or necessary. The circumstances of each case determine what constitutes delay.