N.J. Model Civil Jury Charge 3.20C

3.20 FALSE IMPRISONMENT (FALSE ARREST) (Approved 6/89)

C. CITIZEN'S ARREST FOR A CRIME WITHOUT A

WARRANT

It is the law of this State that a pr ivate citizen may lawfully arrest another

person without a warrant if he/she knows that a crime has actually been committed

and that there is probable or reasonable cause to suspect that the person he/she

arrested did it.

When such an arrest without a warrant is made, the prisoner must be taken

without unnecessary delay before the nearest available judge or other appropriate

governmental official, a complaint promptly filed and a warra nt issued based on

the complaint.

The offense for which it was alleged that the defendant arrested the plaintiff

was a crime for which a citizen's arrest may be made. (Here discuss facts of arrest

and detention).

So, in deciding whether plaintiff wa s falsely imprisoned, there are two

decisions you have to make.

The first is whether plaintiff has proven, by the greater weight of the

evidence, that defendant intentionally deta ined or restrained plaintiff in his/her

personal liberty or freedom of movement by arresting him/her.

The second decision, assuming you find that defendant did intentionally

restrain plaintiff by an arrest, involves defendant's claim that he/she had a right to

make the arrest and that the confinement was only for a reasonable period of time.

Here, the defendant must prove this to you by the greater weight of the evidence.

So you must decide, one, whether defendant had actual knowledge that the specific

crime [insert type of crime] had been committed; two, if so, whether the defendant

also had reasonable or probable cause to believe that plaintiff committed that

crime; and three, if so, did defendant restrain plaintiff only for a reasonable period

of time before bringing plaintiff befo re a judge or a nother appropriate

governmental official.

Reasonable or probable cause would be that the facts and circumstances

known to the defendant were such as would lead a reasonably cautious person to

believe that the plaintiff had committed the crime. It must be more than mere

conjecture or unfounded suspicion.

A reasonable period of time would be only that length of time that was

necessary under the circumstances that a reasonable person would need to bring

plaintiff to a judge or other appropriate governmental official in the circumstances

facing defendant.

The reasonableness of this time would be affected by the availability of the

judge or official, the location of the arrest, the time of day or night, the problem of

confining the plaintiff using available means while reaching the judge or official

and any other factors that you might think have a bearing on the amount of time. If

the defendant imprisoned the plain tiff for an unreasonable time then,

notwithstanding the original legality of the confinement, the unreasonable

detention would constitute false arrest. On the other hand, if the arrest was proper

and the confinement reasonable according to the rules I have explained, then you

must find for the defendant. But if you find that there was a confinement, and you

find that either there was no right to make the arrest or that the confinement was for

an unreasonable period of time, then you must find for plaintiff.

[go on to Damages (False Imprisonment (False Arrest)), Charge 8.47C]

NOTE TO JUDGE

A citizen has the right to arrest without a warrant where it appears that

a crime had actually been committed, and that there was probable or

reasonable cause to fairly suspect the person arrested to be guilty.

Brown v. State, 62 N.J.L. 666 (E. & A. 1889), affirmed 175 U.S. 172;

Reuck v. McGregor, 32 N.J.L. 70 (Sup. Ct. 1866). Although New

Jersey Law does not categorize crimes as felonies, for the purpose of

arrest law a common law felony co rresponds to a crime for which a

person may be incarcerated for more than one year in a State prison.

To supplement the citizen's co mmon law right of arrest, the

Legislature has granted additional authority to the individual to make

warrantless arrests where a disord erly persons offense has been

committed in his/her presence. N.J.S.A. 2A:169-3 provides:

Whenever an offense is committed in his/her

presence any constable or police officer shall, and

any other persons may, apprehend without

warrant or process any disorderly person, and take

him/her before any magi strate of the county

where apprehended.