the state of a person restrained of his liberty, and detained under the custody of another.

No person is to be imprisoned but as the law directs, either by the command or order of a court of record, or by lawful warrant; or the king's process, on which one may be lawfully detained. And at common law, a person could not be imprisoned unless he were guilty of some force and violence, for which his body was subject to imprisonment, as one of the highest executions. Where the law gives power to imprison, in such case it is justifiable, provided he that does it in pursuance of a statute exactly pursues the statute in the manner of doing it; for otherwise it will be deemed false imprisonment, and of consequence it is unjustifiable. Every warrant of commitment for imprisoning a person, ought to run, "till delivered by due course of law," and not "until farther order;" which has been held ill; and thus it also is, where one is imprisoned on a warrant not mentioning any cause for which he is committed. See ARREST and COMMITMENT.

False IMPRISONMENT. Every confinement of the person is an imprisonment, whether it be in a common prison, or in a private house, or in the stocks, or even by forcibly detaining one in the public streets. Unlawful or false imprisonment, consists in such confinement or detention without sufficient authority: which authority may arise either from some process from the courts of justice; or from some warrant from a legal power to commit, under his hand and seal, and expressing the cause of such commitment; or from some other special cause warranted, for the necessity of the thing, either by common law or act of parliament; such as the arresting of a felon by a private person without warrant, the impressing of mariners for the public service, or the apprehending of waggoners for misbehaviour in the public highways. False imprisonment also may arise by executing a lawful warrant or process at an unlawful time, as on a Sunday; or in a place privileged from arrest, as in the verge of the king's court. This is the injury. The remedy is of two sorts; the one removing the injury, the other making satisfaction for it.

The means of removing the actual injury of false imprisonment are four-fold, 1. By writ of MAINPRIZE. 2. By writ De ODIO et Atia. 3. By writ De Hominis Replegiando. 4. By writ of HABEAS Corpus. See those articles.

The satisfactory remedy for this injury of false imprisonment, is by an action of trespass vi et armis, usually called an action of false imprisonment; which is generally, and almost unavoidably, accompanied with a charge of assault and battery also; and therein the party shall recover damages for the injuries he has received; and also the defendant is, as for all other injuries committed with force, or vi et armis, liable to pay a fine to the king for the violation of the public peace.