Examples of false imprisonment: You prevent someone from leaving by grabbing that person's arm; You lock someone in a bedroom; You tie someone to a chair. Note, however, that if the person consented to any of these acts, it wouldn't be false imprisonment.
The misdemeanor offense of false imprisonment under California Penal Code Section 237(a) PC requires a prosecutor to establish the following elements: The defendant intentionally and unlawfully restrained, detained or confined another person. The defendant made the person stay or go somewhere against that person's will ...
California Penal Code § 236 PC defines false imprisonment as unlawfully restraining, detaining, or confining a person against his or her will. The crime can be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony and is punishable by up to three years in jail.
False Imprisonment Defenses. Consent, justification, and self-defense or defense of others are all defenses to hostage false imprisonment.
The most common defense is consent. In other words, the victim voluntarily agreed to being confined.