Latin for Lawyers

FALSARE CURIAM

FALSARE CURIAM [L. fallere / to deceive + curia / meeting house, court] To deceive the court. FALSE, FALSIFY [L. fallo, fallere / to deceive] Not truthful or reliable. Not genuine or authentic; counterfeit. Deceptive; misleading. To falsify is to counterfeit or forge; to convert something which is true into something which is untrue and misleading; to make a statement or document untruthful through mutilation, alteration or substitution. FALSE ARREST The physical restraint of an individual without his consent and without lawful authority. An arrest made by any person, including a police officer, without legal authority. False arrest is both a tort and a crime. FALSE IMPRISONMENT The intentional or negligent physical restraint of a person without his consent and without lawful authority. The restraint may occur anywhere and may be accomplished not only by imposing physical barriers but by the threat of force or assertion of authority. “A person commits a misdemeanor if he knowingly restrains another unlawfully so as to interfere substantially with his liberty.” Model Penal Code §212.3 FALSE LIGHT A tort consisting of an offensive or objectionable portrayal of a person, usu ally by publication in a newspaper or journal. The portrayal need not be defa matory but must appear to a reasonable person to be an unwarranted invasion of a person’s privacy. This tort is not recognized in all jurisdictions. FALSE PRETENSES A crime consisting of the false representation of a material past or present fact, made with knowledge that the representation is false and with intent to defraud, which causes the person to whom it is made to convey an interest in property. The crime is recognized in all jurisdictions. FALSI CRIMEN [L. fallere + crimen / an accusation or charge; fault, guilt or crime] A violation or crime characterized by fraud, deception and concealment. Examples: forgery, false pretenses, false weights. See CRIMEN FALSI FALSUS [ L. fallere / to deceive] Wrong, mistaken, misled. Also false, deceitful.

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