Pierson v. Multnomah County

Plaintiff, Robert Bruce Pierson, brought this false imprisonment action against Multnomah County following his arrest when he was mistaken for his identical twin brother, Ronald David Pierson. The trial court denied plaintiffs motion for a directed verdict on the issue of the arresting officer’s liability. The issues whether the person arrested was sufficiently named in the warrant and whether the officer acted reasonably in arresting plaintiff were submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict for defendant. Plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the issues raised…