Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Re: False Arrest No Phone Call

He may have a good false arrest claim. The phone call isn't an issue. Normally they give you one, but there is no requirement that they do. However, if they said they arrested him on a warrant, this is often a thing police say when they arrest someone for no reason. I would like to hear more.

Re: False Arrest No Phone Call

False arrest and imprisonment can be sued for in both state and federal court. If you want to file in state court, you have to serve a notice of claim on the city or town. As for the phone call that is probably a "non-starter" as it is not a requirement in the law, and because he was not thankfully injured in coming home.

Finally the false arrest/imprisonment may not be worth much unless your son shows underlying symptoms of depression, anxiety, Post tramatic stress Disorder/syndrome (PTSD), sleeplessness etc.

Otherwise loss of face in the community or damage to his reputation may also come into play.

Lawyers may be wary of taking the case because of the limited damages. If a lawyer is interested buy shy of a contingency fee, you might suggest a partial upfront fee and a lesser percentage on the contingency. That is called a modified contingency. Many Civil rights lawyers are entering these fee agreements because of the law in the area seems unsettled.