To secure a conviction for the base level or misdemeanor Second Degree offense, Penal Law 135.05, you must restrain another person. Free Consultation - Call 212.312.Former Manhattan Prosecutor. Per Penal Code section 237(a), false imprisonment is a misdemeanor if violence, deceit, fraud, or menace were not involved in the offense's commission. Accused of false imprisonment PC 236 in California? Contact our Orange County attorneys at Law Office of Michael L. Guisti and we can fight to defend you. California Penal Code § 236 PC defines false imprisonment as unlawfully restraining, detaining, or confining a person against his or her will. Blankenhorn's State Law Causes of Action. The (specify) count is Unlawful Imprisonment in the Second. Degree. The Legal Aid Society is built on one simple but powerful belief: that no person should be denied the right to equal justice.