False Imprisonment in Plain Sight: My Story Under a Void Judgment

False Imprisonment in Plain Sight: My Story Under a Void Judgment

By Devon T. White

On August 15, 2018, I was found guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom. Just two weeks later, on August 29, 2018, I was sentenced. But in that moment—when the gavel fell and the sentence was handed down—my entire judgment became void on its face.

From that point forward, everything that followed was not lawful punishment. It was false imprisonment.

Shackled, Moved, and Trafficked Through a Broken System

As soon as I was sentenced, I was placed in restraints and removed from the courtroom. I wasn’t free to walk. I wasn’t afforded dignity. I was placed in chains and dragged into a holding tank. That wasn’t “transportation.” That was kidnapping.

I was then placed on a jailhouse bus and moved back to the Los Angeles County Jail. This wasn’t a routine transfer. It was human trafficking under the color of law.

For weeks, I was shuttled between institutions:

1. Held in Los Angeles County Jail until September 21, 2018.
2. Restrained again and trafficked to Wayside County Jail, where I was held until September 23, 2018.
3. Trafficked back to Los Angeles County Jail, then again placed on a bus on September 24, 2018, and trafficked to Wasco Reception Center.

At Wasco, the CDCR Secretary officially accepted me into state custody under a void judgment—knowingly enforcing a sentence that legally did not exist. That act transformed my detention from “punishment” into false imprisonment.

Void Judgment Means No Authority

Under California law, a penalty cannot exist without a valid public offense. If the offense is stayed, suspended, or otherwise inactive, the penalty collapses with it. A judgment entered under these conditions is not just flawed—it is void.

And when an agency like CDCR enforces a void judgment, it is not enforcing the law. It is acting without authority.

That means every mile I was shackled and transported, every cage I was placed in, and every day I have spent in prison since 2018 has been unlawful. I was not being punished according to law. I was being held hostage.

The Human Cost of False Imprisonment

For years, I didn’t fully grasp the truth of my situation. It wasn’t until June 6, 2025, that I uncovered the reality: my imprisonment was never lawful to begin with. That realization hit me like a tidal wave—because it meant I was living a nightmare that the system itself had created and sustained.

False imprisonment isn’t just a legal phrase. It’s a lived experience. It means years of being separated from family under chains of illegality. It means taxpayer dollars funding a system that knowingly detains people without lawful judgments. It means entire lives wasted because of institutional silence and misconduct.

Why This Matters to Everyone

My story isn’t only about me. It raises urgent questions for every Californian and every American:

1. How many others are sitting in prison under void judgments, never told their detention is unlawful?
2. Why are agencies like CDCR allowed to operate beyond their authority, unchecked and unaccountable?
3. At what point does the public demand answers—and justice—for those wrongfully imprisoned under the guise of law?

A Call for Accountability

False imprisonment under a void judgment is not just a personal tragedy—it’s a violation of constitutional rights, due process, and basic human dignity. It is kidnapping, it is trafficking, and it is an abuse of power hiding in plain sight.

The people deserve to know how the system operates in practice—not in theory. My hope is that by speaking out, my story forces a spotlight on the unlawful machinery that continues to strip individuals of their freedom under judgments that never had legal authority in the first place.

Until then, every day I remain in custody is not a sentence being served. It is another day of being falsely imprisoned by a state that refuses to acknowledge the truth.

✍🏾 By Devon T. White