If you have been arrested but the police did not have probable cause to believe you have committed an arrestable crime, call an Ohio false arrest lawyer to determine whether you might have a case. Although we are not able to take on false arrest cases at this time because of our workload, we hope the information below will help provide some background about these types of cases.
Ohio false arrest cases
False arrest occurs when the police arrest someone without probable cause or otherwise detain someone improperly. It is important to note that police may briefly detain people without arresting them—for example during a traffic stop—although the detention must be reasonable in both length and in scope. Plaintiffs can sue for false arrest under either Ohio or federal law. But these cases are extremely difficult to win.
First, if you have been indicted by a grand jury, that almost always means it will not be possible to successfully pursue a false arrest or malicious prosecution case. A grand jury indictment raises a presumption that probable cause existed to arrest and prosecute. In addition, the police officers themselves cannot be sued for their grand jury testimony, even if false.
Second, individual police officers have the protection of what is called “qualified immunity” in malicious prosecution cases. That means police officers can avoid liability unless it was “clearly established” at the time that what they did was unconstitutional. Qualified immunity will frequently stop victims from recovering on their claims.
If you are the victim of false arrest, speak with a false arrest lawyer to determine if you might have a case.
