[channel foghorn leghorn]
That was a joke son, a joke.
[/channel foghorn leghorn]
Could we get a good definition of false imprisonment from a lawyer type? maybe we should drag this into GD where they seem to be more available. Being detained or citizen arrested would not constitute false imprisonment AFAIK.
So mods? would this be worth a move, its prety civil for a pit thread?
Yep, there’s nothing like spending a small fortune in your local CompUSA and then being treated like a common criminal on your way out. I always call them receipt nazis.
Laws vary from state to stae. In Texas, at least there used be, a provision for detaining someone for the investigation of a theft. THis was differant from a citizens arrest, in which you could only be released by a magistrate(the cops released them all the time anyway). I have a made a few citizens arrests in my time, but it was always when I had witnessed something happen that would allow me to arrest them, never just on a hunch. Man I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that crap for a living anymore.
Personally, I only stop to let them check when it is convienient for me. If there is a line, I just walk right past. My local best buy people just walk out all the time, the alarms going off, and the sales people dont even look over.
There are (at least) two principal areas of law at issue here, and I have almost zero experience in either of them: criminal law and real-estate law. The real estate issue is actually pretty narrow, concerning what sort of “license” a retail store generally grants to persons who enter. It’s the sort of thing that you study once in law school and almost never see again, unless you’re an attorney for a shopping center or retail chain.
I suspect in many places it’s also a creature of local statute, which would detail what rights stores have and what notice (if any) they must give to their patrons.
Unfortunately, I suspect that the other lawyers I know here on the boards are in the same position I am, which is why no one’s commented on these issues. Since people obviously feel strongly about what a store should or should not be able to do, there’s a greater-than-average risk that someone might act on any mistaken advice an attorney might give in this forum. That’s a bad and scarey thing.
Wish I could be more help :(.
hmm, I still remeber working at Wal-Mart while finishing up school. Had a Lady led out of the store in handcuffs while her 2 year old chanted “Mama’s going to Jaaaiillll!”
Of course, the lady was trying to steal about 20 CD’s be having that same little girl sit on them.
Bhudda
:eek:
Never ceases to amaze me just how low some human beings are capable of stooping to.
We caught some guy the other day trying to steal a Dreamcast unit by putting it under the baby’s blankets with his baby in the stroller.
It didn’t take the people at the door a long time to realize that corners and box-shaped edges under the blanket isn’t a part of any baby.
It also turned out the guy had 2 DVD’s, 6 CD’s, a bunch of blank minidiscs, and several Monster audio/video cables.
We had him arrested, and his wife slapped him hard when she arrived to take the baby. What a lovely family that’s going to turn out to be.
A couple of years ago, a guy in Home Depot told me of an incident that had happened the previous year. A middle-aged/old guy had a heart attack in middle of the store (IIRC, the guy actually died). The paramedics opened his shirt to administer some treatment or other (perhaps hook him up to some machines) and discovered the inside of his shirt to be stuffed with drill bits.
Sounds like an Urban Legend, but this guy claimed to have been in the store when it happened.