Would i be able to sue for being falsely accused?

by **camdin90** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:10 am

I was falsely accused of something and proven not guilty. although thats good, there was a lot of money put into this situation. my lawyer fees, because i had a warrant(i was never charged with anything..they automatically just put a warrant out) my car was towed, bail money, and etc. so since i didnt do it and if they never would have made these false accusations i would have never hade to pay all this. so shouldnt they be held accountable for the expenses? and how do i go about doing this? and also can i sue for defamation of character? thankyou.

by **camdin90** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:11 am

I don't think you stand a chance of winning, the police do not issue warrants the courts do and before they do so there has to be a probable cause based on evidence.

Part of what you are saying makes no sense, you say that you were never charged with anything but also say that you were proven not guilty? Not guilty of what? Not guilty of what ever it was that they charged you for is the only thing that makes sense.

Being found not guilty does not mean that you did not do it, not guilty means that they could not prove that you did it.

Defamation of character you have to prove malice or that they intended to do great harm to your character. I doubt that you would be able to prove this.

by **emilek17** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:20 am

"never charged with anything" meaning they never came to me and asked me if i did it...or my side of the story at all. i was driving, got pulled over, and thats when i found out i had a warrant. i had no idea that they had even filed charges in the first place.

by **lorimar** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:25 am

they had absolutley no evidence. because me and him had previuosly had problems he said it was me. no one seen anything. i had proof that i was in the hospital with a fractured arm at the time it happened. i want to to sue the person who filed the charges not the courts.

by **golding** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:32 am

You can sue for anything. I think your question is "Can I win?"

Probably not.

Being found "not guilty" is far from being found innocent. Were the prosecutors and police acting reasonably, but came to a wrong conclusion? Were they acting illegally to go after you? This can be complex and VERY VERY difficult.

Courts almost always find that prosecutors are not accountable to suspects merely because of a prosecution. Police have to use the evidence available. If someone made false statements to accuse you, that person may be guilty of perjury or making a false statement. That prosecution would be up to the district attorney.

Surely, you are not going to try to sue them without the advice from your lawyer! Ask your lawyer what your options are.

by **lorimar** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:33 am

It probably depends on what it was as to how serious they would take it, a friend of mine was accused of something he didn't do and he is going to sue that person for slander, it is a long process but if you think it would be worth a try then you should go for it, try talking to your solicitor and see what they suggest

by **shen86** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:34 am

It probably depends on what it was as to how serious they would take it, a friend of mine was accused of something he didn't do and he is going to sue that person for slander, it is a long process but if you think it would be worth a try then you should go for it, try talking to your solicitor and see what they suggest

You can sue anyone for anything. Will you win? No, especially if I was the judge.

by **fitche** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:46 am

Okay, hang on a minute. You say you were never charged with anything, but that you were proven not guilty. If you were never charged, you never went to trial, and so nothing was proved either way. You are PRESUMED innocent, but you have not been proved not guilty.

That aside, who are you talking about suing? Generally speaking, the civil authorities aren't usually liable for reasonably carrying out their duties on the evidence available to them. So if the police had a reasonable suspicion (and they likely did, if they were able to get a warrant), then they were doing their job and you're mostly out of luck going after them. You MIGHT have a claim, if they were clearly negligent or malicious, but that's not always easy to prove.

Maybe those who are acquitted of criminal charges should be able to recover reasonable legal costs, but that's really a huge kettle of fish, and I'm not sure there'd ever be much political support for it.

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