§ 2903. False imprisonment.
(a) Offense defined.--Except as provided under subsection (b) or (c), a person commits a misdemeanor of
the second degree if he knowingly restrains another unlawfully so as to interfere
substantially with his liberty.
(b) False imprisonment of a minor where offender is not victim's parent.--If the victim is a person under 18 years of age, a person who is not the victim's
parent commits a felony of the second degree if he knowingly restrains another unlawfully
so as to interfere substantially with his liberty.
(c) False imprisonment of a minor where offender is victim's parent.--If the victim is a person under 18 years of age, a parent of the victim commits a
felony of the second degree if he knowingly restrains another unlawfully so as to
interfere substantially with his liberty.
(d) Definition.--As used in this section the term "parent" means a natural parent, stepparent, adoptive
parent or guardian of a minor.
(Dec. 20, 2000, P.L.721, No.98, eff. imd.; Dec. 20, 2011, P.L.446, No.111, eff. 60
days)
2000 Amendment. See the preamble to Act 98 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating
to legislative intent.
Cross References. Section 2903 is referred to in sections 5329, 6102 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations);
section 9799.14 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); section 2303 of Title
44 (Law and Justice).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
89
cases (
18 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case:
Commonwealth v. Dillon, 925 A.2d 131 (Pa. 2007).
Commonwealth v. Dillon, 925 A.2d 131 (Pa. 2007).
· cites it 2× “[4] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903. [5] 18 Pa.C.S. § 6301.”
Commonwealth v. Belgrave, 391 A.2d 662 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1978).
· cites it 6× “" 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903, supra. Since unlawfully restraining a person "in circumstances exposing him to risk of *49 serious bodily injury" 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Chester, 587 A.2d 1367 (Pa. 1991).
· cites it 2× “§ 2902, False Imprisonment, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903, Conspiracy, 18 Pa.C.S.”
Commonwealth v. Gatling, 807 A.2d 890 (Pa. 2002).
· cites it 2× “§ 2705, false imprisonment, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903, and unlawful restraint, 18 Pa.”
Snyder v. Snyder, 629 A.2d 977 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1993).
· cites it 2× “(3) The infliction of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment).”
Commonwealth v. Keaton, 729 A.2d 529 (Pa. 1999).
· cites it 2× “§ 2901, false imprisonment, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903, unlawful restraint, 18 Pa.”
Raker v. Raker, 847 A.2d 720 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004).
“(3) The infliction of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment).”
Custer v. Cochran, 933 A.2d 1050 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007).
“*1055 (3) The infliction of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment).”
Ferko-Fox v. Fox, 68 A.3d 917 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013).
“(3) The infliction of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment).”
Scott v. Shay, 928 A.2d 312 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007).
· cites it 2× “(3) The infliction of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment).”
K.T. v. L.S., 118 A.3d 1136 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment).”
Karch v. Karch, 885 A.2d 535 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).
“(3) The infliction of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment).”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2903(a) — 30 cases
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2903(b) — 5 cases
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2903(c) — 2 cases
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.