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F 16.135a
Misdemeanor False Imprisonment Force As An Element
(PC 236)
*Modify second sentence of ¶ 2 of CJ 16.135 to provide as follows [added language is capitalized]:
False imprisonment means there must be an intentional AND FORCEFUL [and unlawful] restraint, confinement or detention which compels a person to stay or go somewhere against [his] [her] will.
Points and Authorities
Force is an element of both misdemeanor and felony false imprisonment. (People v. Hendrix (92) 8 CA4th 1458, 1462 [10 CR2d 922].) Hence, CJ 16.135 should be modified to require that the restraint, confinement or detention be “forceful.”
Failure to adequately instruct the jury upon matters relating to proof of any element of the charge and/or the prosecution’s burden of proof thereon violates the defendant’s state (Art. I, § 15 and § 16) and federal (6th and 14th Amendments) constitutional rights to trial by jury and due process. [See generally, FORECITE PG VII(C).]