Do I have the right to have my case dropped and or sue for damages for false in prisonment and false arrest?
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Do I have the right to have my case dropped and or sue for damages for false in prisonment and false arrest?
I was placed in custody after my house was searched by law enforcement for
child protective custody issues and was even booked into jail. Later I received
a letter from the district attorney saying that I was detained I still paid the bond and I’m still paying the bond if I wasn’t arrested do I have some type of case against the local government and police department and or government agency and do they drop my case and do I get my bond paid back to me if I was not arrested.
Asked on June 28, 2018 under Criminal Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Not being arrested does NOT mean it was false arrest or unlawful imprisonment: people may be brought in and detained legally if there is some cause to do so, even if they ultimately are not arrested or if charges are never brought (or if brought ,are later dismissed). So long as there was grounds to bring you in and detain you in the first place, it was legal. False arrest is only if the officer knowingly acted improperly (e.g. knew there were no grounds to detain you, but did so anyway to harass you) or recklessly ignored a preponderance of evidence or facts showing that there were no grounds to detain you.
IF it was a false or unjustified arrest by the standards above, you should be able to get the case dismissed and may have grounds to sue.
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