Navigating Wrongful Arrest Lawsuits in Missouri: Protecting Your Civil Rights Being arrested is a frightening experience, even when justified. But when an arrest occurs without legal basis, it's not just an inconvenience; it's a violation of your fundamental civil rights. In Missouri, as across the United States, citizens are protected from unreasonable seizures by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. If you believe you’ve been subjected to a wrongful or false arrest, understanding your rights and legal options is the first step toward justice. What Constitutes a Wrongful Arrest in Missouri? A wrongful arrest, often interchangeably referred to as a "false arrest" or "false imprisonment" when applied to the initial detention, occurs when a law enforcement officer detains an individual without sufficient legal justification. The bedrock principle here is the absence of "probable cause." Simply put, for an arrest ...