New Jersey Criminal Statute Guide
N.J.S.A. 2C:13-2: Criminal restraint
Criminal restraint sits between kidnapping and false imprisonment, but its extra element is critical: serious-bodily-injury risk or involuntary servitude. Preventing someone from leaving is not automatically this third-degree crime.
Plain English
What 2C:13-2 actually prohibits
The statute applies when a person knowingly restrains another unlawfully in circumstances exposing that person to a risk of serious bodily injury, or knowingly holds another in involuntary servitude. Creating circumstances that make another believe they must remain can qualify as holding for the servitude branch.
“Restrain” and “unlawful” draw on the Code’s kidnapping definitions and the facts of consent, authority, force, threat, deception, and age. The serious-injury branch requires a real risk arising from the circumstances, not necessarily an injury. The servitude branch asks whether the person was held in a condition of compelled service.
What the State must prove
- Knowing restraint or holding of another person.
- Lack of lawful privilege or legally effective consent.
- Either circumstances exposing the person to risk of serious bodily injury, or a condition of involuntary servitude.
Degree and Exposure
The grading rules matter
Criminal restraint is a third-degree indictable crime. The ordinary range is not a mandatory sentence, and case-specific sentencing rules and criminal history matter.
| Level | Ordinary imprisonment range | Maximum ordinary fine | Usual court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-degree crime | 3 to 5 years | $15,000 | Superior Court |
These are statutory maximums and ordinary degree ranges, not a prediction of sentence. Restitution, assessments, probation conditions, merger, consecutive-sentence rules, prior record, and offense-specific provisions can change the practical result.
Proof Problems
The evidence is charge-specific
Movement and exit evidence
Door, vehicle, phone, surveillance, access-control, and witness evidence can show whether movement or departure was actually prevented and for how long.
Risk conditions
Weapons, speed, location, isolation, physical positioning, threats, medical vulnerability, and the manner of restraint bear on serious-bodily-injury risk.
Labor and dependency records
For alleged servitude, pay, housing, immigration threats, identification documents, transportation, debts, work rules, and communications can show coercion or voluntary employment.
Defense Analysis
Issues counsel should test
Consent or privilege
Voluntary presence, permission, parental or custodial authority, and a reasonable understanding of consent may dispute unlawful restraint, though consent can be withdrawn and authority has limits.
No serious-injury risk
Substantial interference with liberty without the added serious-injury risk may fit false imprisonment rather than criminal restraint.
No knowing restraint
A misunderstanding, accidental obstruction, or lack of awareness that the person was being held can defeat the required knowing state of mind.
A possible issue is not an automatic dismissal. Its value depends on the admissible record, the exact subsection charged, and what the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Charge Boundaries
Related, but not interchangeable
Kidnapping, N.J.S.A. 2C:13-1: Kidnapping requires its own removal or confinement and specified purposes or circumstances; criminal restraint is not simply a shorter kidnapping.
False imprisonment, N.J.S.A. 2C:13-3: False imprisonment requires knowing unlawful restraint substantially interfering with liberty, but not serious-injury risk or involuntary servitude.
Human trafficking: Compelled labor or services may implicate separate trafficking statutes with distinct elements and much greater exposure.
Indictable crimes are ordinarily handled in Superior Court. A disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons charge is ordinarily heard in municipal court unless it travels with indictable counts or is otherwise transferred. The complaint and later charging documents control.
Practice and court resources
Common Questions
Questions about 2C:13-2
Does the person have to be tied up?
No. Restraint can be accomplished through force, threat, deception, barriers, or circumstances that effectively prevent leaving. The State still must prove the charged means and every element.
What if nobody was injured?
Actual injury is not required for the serious-risk branch. The prosecution must prove circumstances exposing the person to a risk of serious bodily injury.
Is a parent automatically exempt?
No blanket exemption applies. For the involuntary-servitude branch, the statute provides a limited affirmative defense involving a child under 18, a relative or legal guardian, and the sole purpose of assuming control of the child.
Primary Sources
Read the law and current court instructions
- New Jersey Legislature lookup for N.J.S.A. 2C:13-2 (section text and amendment history).
- New Jersey Legislature bulk statutes archive.
- New Jersey Courts, current Model Criminal Jury Charges. Search the exact citation; not every offense or subsection has a model charge.
- N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3 fines and restitution and N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6 ordinary prison terms.
Source verification: section language and amendment history checked against the Legislature bulk text through L.2025, c.405 on September 5, 2026. Sentencing ranges were checked against N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3 and 2C:43-6 in the same snapshot. The Judiciary’s live model-charge index was checked September 5, 2026; because model charges are revised separately, its current entry should be used at the time of a case.
The citation is only the starting point.
Bring the complaint, charging language, and any release or no-contact conditions. We can discuss what this particular allegation requires and where the proof may be contested.
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Source verification completed September 5, 2026 against the New Jersey Legislature bulk statutes through P.L.2025, c.405, the exact Title 2C section, applicable sentencing statutes, and the New Jersey Judiciary’s current model-charge index. Primary sources: Legislature statute archive and Judiciary model charges. This is source verification, not a representation of attorney review. Laws change; nothing here is legal advice for your specific case.