You must contact a defense lawyer as soon as possible if you are being charged with domestic abuse and unlawful imprisonment in Washington. Domestic violence charges can be complicated because police can accuse you of a crime, even in cases where the putative victim chooses not to press charges.

But what does the state of Washington define as unlawful imprisonment? Although the Revised Code of Washington concisely defines a specific criminal offense, this phrase applies to numerous real-life circumstances.

Instances that qualify as unlawful imprisonment

Unlawful imprisonment refers to “knowingly restraining someone,” according to Washington law. Here are some illustrations of how that slightly ambiguous term might appear:

• Locking a person in a room: Holding someone in your house or even a public area may be illegal. Such circumstances frequently arise in domestic abuse cases.
• Making threats of violence or force if someone leaves the room: Sometimes, charges of unlawful imprisonment are filed alongside other offenses, such as armed robbery. This is because using threats of force or violence to prevent someone from leaving a room may qualify as illegal confinement.
• Tying up someone: Officers may be able to charge you with unlawful detention if you tied someone up so they could not move freely, regardless of whether you used a rope, handcuffs, zip ties, or anything else.
• Preventing someone from getting out of a car: If you deny someone the ability to leave your vehicle when they want to, they may accuse you of wrongful confinement even though they entered voluntarily.

How to respond to a charge of illegal detention

Unlawful imprisonment is a serious charge. Many people charged with this crime decide to hire a criminal defense attorney to help them fight their charges because the penalty for the offense can be very severe. You can better combat an illegal imprisonment charge if you know several typical defense tactics, though the defense you choose will depend on the specifics of your case.

Typical defenses to accusations of wrongful confinement include the following:

• Police exclusivity. It is legal for police to hold someone they suspect of committing crimes.
• Arrest of a citizen. In Washington, a private citizen can make a citizen’s arrest of a person they witness committing a crime. Although the person you arrested may still accuse you of unjust imprisonment, you may be able to defeat the allegation by using the citizen’s arrest argument.
• Shopkeeper’s entitlement. Many states, including Washington, permit business owners to detain someone they suspect of attempting to steal or shoplift. According to Washington state law, you can only detain someone for a “reasonable time,” and you need “reasonable grounds” to do so.
• Consent is a typical defense against wrongful detention if the individual who accused you of this offense requested to be bound, imprisoned in a room, or subjected to other forms of restraint. You can prove that you obtained consent by using the services of an attorney.

Conclusion

Being accused of unlawful imprisonment is a severe charge, and hiring an attorney as soon as possible is advisable to defend yourself.