How to File a Lawsuit Against Police Officers for Wrongful Arrest in Arizona
- 1). File your case with the Clerk of Courts for the county of the officer's employment, and pay him the court fees for your case. You should be able to find the address in the phone directory, and you can file and pay electronically. You will probably have to file no later than one year after the conclusion of your imprisonment.
- 2). Fill out a summons form for each defendant in your case. The Clerk of Courts should be able to provide you with the necessary forms. Be sure to fill out the name of the intended recipient, your name, your complete address, your phone number and your lawyer's bar association number if applicable. Indicate your status as the petitioner and, if serving as your own attorney, note that also. You will then need to serve these summons to the intended recipients through anyone older than 18 other than a party to the case, and that person can present the summons either to the officer personally or to the head of his precinct or department.
- 3). Present your case to a court federal court. The F.B.I. prosecutes cases of false arrest as a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights, and so you can bring federal charges against the offending officers. The federal government will have more legal resources than you and so will be more able to pursue your case and more likely to win it.
- 4). Present your civil case to the court. Include all possible claims under both civil law and tort law, the law on monetary compensations for wrongdoing, regardless of any criminal cases posed. To pursue a court case, you will want to prove to the court the intentional nature of the arresting officer's actions. An intentional tort will usually award you the greatest amount in damages. Negligent Torts less so, and Strict Liability less than that.
- 5). Apply for an expungement of the arrest from your record. To do this, the arrest and charge will have to have been both made illegally, perhaps through one or more policeman lying to the court, and the charge itself will have had to result in damages. Given any period of imprisonment, however, this last element might be simple to prove.
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