This is the power of a false accusation: it can destroy one’s personal and professional life. An accused person may face powerful challenges in most spheres of their life, including reputation damage, living a life bogged down with emotional distress, and legal complications. While one wishes to seek justice from time to time, what are you to do when there is a false accusation against you? The article in concrete form weighs up possibilities of suing on false accusations and describes legal ways of protection of rights.
Understanding False Accusations
A false accusation is defined as an intentional claim made by one person against another, with the intent to wrongfully charge the latter with misconduct. It could be maliciously brought into disputes or sometimes by accident. Whatever the intent may be, the outcome resulting from a false accusation can range from criminal measures against the accused to a damaged reputation and finally to colossal emotional trauma of the accused.
It should again be stressed that false accusation can be committed through various forms, such as defamation, malicious prosecution, to false imprisonment; each usually carries a separate legal boundary and thus bears different consequences regarding the nature of remedies that the falsely accused has at his or her disposal.
Can You Press Criminal Charges for False Accusations?
The term “pressing charges” is poorly understood. To add to that, in regard to the criminal charge, only a law enforcement and prosecutor has the right to table a criminal charge against anyone here in the United States. You cannot, as a private citizen, press charges against another person charging you with lying. Rather, you can always report any such claims to the police, and provided you have all the evidence, then the police may take action: they will review your case and may file criminal charges against them.
“For more information about criminal laws and your rights, you may refer to our guide on Common Criminal Law Questions In New York State.”
In some, rare circumstances, the complainant would be indictable for perjury if they filed their complaint under oath, or for filing a false police report if they knowingly filed a report where they knew information was not valid. Naturally, all prosecutorial decisions are made at the discretion of law enforcement and the prosecution, meaning you would not be the one personally filing those charges.
Civil Remedies for False Accusations
Although you cannot directly file criminal charges, one can certainly file civil action against a person for false accusations. Civil remedies compensate for the damages caused by the wrongful accusation. A few of the various legal actions possible follow:
1. Defamation Lawsuits
One very common route of action leveled when one feels he or she has been accused of something untrue is to sue for defamation. Defamation occurs by the communication of a false statement that harms another person’s good reputation. There are two kinds of defamation:
- Libel: A statement that is written or otherwise published in the media, and would include, for example, social network sites, newspapers, and online articles.
- Slander: false speaking used to accuse a person, as if he has committed some wrong, casual or public, by which his reputation is damaged.
To bring a case of defamation, you must be able to prove all of the following:
- False Statement: There was a statement made that is factually untrue.
- A statement to a third party: means that the false statement has been communicated to someone other than yourself.
- Harm to Reputation: The statement harmed your good reputation by bringing it down in personal or professional aspects.
- Intent or Negligence: The person making the statement was either negligent or malicious in passing on the information when he knew it was not true.
2. Malicious Prosecution
Malicious prosecution is a civil remedy of those acts when someone with malafide intention, with knowledge that it is not a genuine case, initiates a case against you and consequently causes damage to your reputation or otherwise.
The following elements must be established in malicious prosecution:
- Filing of a Lawsuit: The defendant has brought or continued an action against you.
- Lack of Probable Cause: The legal action was filed without good cause or justification.
- Malicious Intent: It was a prosecution maliciously carried on to hurt you.
- Favorable Termination: The proceeding was finally discharged in your favour and proved that the accusation against you had no grounds.
- Damages: You subsequently suffered damage, either to your reputation, emotionally, or financially.
Note that malicious prosecution is not an easy claim to establish because, in proving the existence of malicious intent on the part of the accuser, clear and convincing evidence is required. However, if you successfully present your claim, then recovery on account of certain losses due to emotional distress, financial loss, and associated damage you suffered because of such a false accusation might be recovered.
3. False Imprisonment
You may have a claim for false imprisonment if unlawful detention without a legal warrant or order was the result of a malicious false accusation. When a claim for false imprisonment arises, confinement lawfully restrains a person’s movements.
To establish a case for false imprisonment, the following ingredients must be met satisfactorily:
- Intentional Confinement:The accused intentionally restricted your freedom of movement.
- Non-Consent: this is a case wherein you did not agree to such confinement
- Lack of Legal Justification: The detention occurred without a legal basis or authority.
Claims for false imprisonment are made where one is falsely accused of some crime by a person, and this leads to the wrongful arrest or detention of him or her by some kind of law enforcement.
What to Do If You Are Falsely Accused
It’s essential to understand your civil rights and know how to protect them during legal proceedings. For further details, check out our article on Civil Rights In New York State. Whatever the case or the situation may be when one is facing false accusations, it is always indispensable to take steps for the protection of one’s rights and in seeking justice. Here are some things you may want to consider:
Consult an Attorney
One of the most important things you can do is consult a seasoned attorney. A good attorney will clarify your rights to you, discuss all possible legal avenues, and point out which might be advisable if you decide to file a civil action in defamation, malicious prosecution, or false imprisonment. Whichever avenue you choose, there you find the expertise and guidance of the attorney indispensable in helping you make a sound case.
Collection of Evidence
Evidence is imperative in defense against false accusations.Any documentation that may be related to emails, messages, postings, or social media, and any witness statements, can serve as evidence in an attempt to controvert with evidence the accusations against you. Aside from solidifying your case in the civil lawsuit, evidence is indicative that the damage brought by the false accusation includes being defamatory in nature and causing severe emotional and mental harm.
Do Not Seek Revenge
Of course, a person has every right to this anger or irritation when accused of something he or she has never done. However, it is never good to act back against the accuser. A surge of emotions or counter-accusation could weaken one’s legal standing and be used even against him in court.The best line of approach would be to put all efforts into creating and presenting your case, let the due process of law take effect.
Protect Your Reputation
The false accusations can really bring you into disrepute. If the accusation was made in public, then that is a good avenue on which you would seek professional advice on how you manage your public image. Additionally, it is best to avoid any further public statements before the case is over, as some of these may result in unintended consequences against you.
Damages in a Defamation Lawsuit: Evidence
The first thing that one should know when pursuing a case of defamation is the type of damages one may claim. These damages are, in essence, given as compensation for the harm false accusations have caused:
- Special Damages: The actual losses one could measure in terms of money that were a result of the defamation. Special damages are classified also when a person does not get a job or an economic opportunity because of another person’s false accusations.
- General Damages: These are non-economic in nature and include any harm to your reputation, emotional distress, or pain and suffering. These are more intangible but significant results of defamation.
- Punitive Damages: These are awarded when there is something much more heinous at the hand of the defendant. The idea behind punitive damages is that the wrongdoer must be punished and others must be deterred from these actions.
Criminal Charges for Perjury and False Reporting
Sometimes the accuser may be charged with crimes such as perjury or false reporting. Perjury was defined earlier in the book as when a person knowingly gives false testimony under oath. False reporting is a crime for actually making the report knowing the information is false to a law enforcement officer.
These are charges dealt with by the law enforcement and the prosecutors, and thus you cannot make those charges yourself. You can, however, report your case to the police, and if you have enough evidence to present, they may possibly act based on criminal charges against the accuser.
The Importance of Legal Counsel
This may be through a civil action lawsuit against defamation, malicious prosecution, or false imprisonment; you deserve the expertise and skills of a lawyer. The skilled lawyer will outline for you your rights, get the evidence needed to present your case, and present that evidence in court as an attempt to seek justice from an injury caused by false accusations.
The whole process, from having to deal with the court system to having your voice heard, can be quite overwhelming at times. Should one be falsely accused of something, he or she would need an attorney by his side. Never try to fight a battle alone, as it is highly recommended that an active professional is on your side, with complete assurance to present you in court for fighting for one’s right.
Conclusion
Civil remedies include libel suits, complaint against malicious prosecution, or civil action for false imprisonment, wherein the plaintiff can receive damages as its restorative value over one’s reputation, among others.
This is, in general, the process to defend oneself against a false accusation: protection of rights, preservation of evidence, and seeking an attorney.
The lawyer will, therefore, be in a position to take you through every step as you begin the building of your case, piece together the relevant evidence, and present it to the court as you regain your good name and receive your justice.
If you are a victim of a false accusation, do not wait another day to contact an attorney abou tyour legal options and take the first step towards defending your rights and finding justice.
