Allen v Wright; 4 Jul 1838

References: , [1838] EngR 793, (1838) 8 Car & P 522, (1838) 173 ER 602
Links: Commonlii
Coram: Tindal CJ
Ratio: EngR In an action for false imprisonment, the defendant justified on the ground that the plaintiff had been his lodger, and after she had left her apartments he discovered that some feathers were missing from a bed which she had occupied, and he suspecting her to be the person who had stolen them, caused her to be apprehended, &c. It appeared that the defendant took a policeman at night to the new lodgings of the plaintiff a few days after she had left his house, and had her apprehended and taken to the station-house, and the next day she was examined before the magistrate and discharged.
Held: That as the defendant had taken the law into his own hands, and not adopted, as a prudent person would, under such clrcumstances, the cautious course of having previous investigation by a magistrate, and obtaining a warrant from him, it was incumbent on him to make out to the entire satisfaction of the jury not only that a felony had been committed, but that the circumstances of the case were such that they or any reasonable person, acting without passion or prejudice, would fairly have suspected the plaintiff of being the person who had committed it.
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Last Update: 17-Jun-16
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