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False accusation larceny - RI

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SuzyW

Junior Member
An older woman whom i care for filed a misdemeanor larceny charge against me. I was arrested, spent 2 hours or so in the cell at my local police station, had a mug shot and prints done, while the police came and fully searched my home breaking several doors and some drawers and such only to find absolutly nothing illegal or stolen on my property. After spending a lot of money on a lawyer, I went to court and the case was immediately dismissed. I am now in the process of having it expunged. This woman who lives in my neighborhood has been telling all of my neighbors that i am a thief. I have a clean record and have never stolen anything. My question is can i sue this woman for making a false statement, to cover the costs of replacing my doors and to pay for the lawyer? If so, does anyone know a good lawyer i can call that handles these cases? Thanks.
 


quincy

Senior Member
To address your last question first, you can locate an attorney through the tools available on this site (click on the "Find an Attorney" found at the bottom of each post) or you can contact the Rhode Island State Bar Association (www.ribar.com) for an attorney directory listing showing attorneys practicing in your area.

If you have already started the expungement process, to have the arrest and charge removed from all records, then I will assume you have already filed a motion with the court and your hearing has been scheduled. If this is your first arrest and charge or conviction, you should be eligible for having your record expunged. I want to advise you to conduct your own background check after the expungement, to ensure that your records have, indeed, been cleared. Many background check companies will mine the public police and court records before court dispositions, so your arrest and the charge filed against you could still appear. You will want to get these corrections made, so the arrest and charge do not hamper your ability to get a job in the future.

For defamation, you must prove that, first, this woman has slandered you to others, by calling you a thief after the court dismissed the charge against you. For this you will need witness testimony as support. In addition, you will want evidence of reputational injury that has resulted from her slanderous statements (although there may be some presumption of injury when falsely labeled a "thief"). Finally, you will need proof of fault (negligence) on the part of this woman, when she was telling others that you are a thief. Although damages awarded for defamation will be based on the reputational injury demonstrated and not for damages incurred as a result of the police searching your home, the amount recovered should you win a defamation suit could be enough to cover the costs of replacing or repairing this damage.

What I am thinking may be a better or at least an additional action you can consider, based ONLY on what you have posted here, is a malicious prosecution suit. This should be discussed with the attorney you contact.

You can file a malicious prosecution complaint after a criminal case against you has been dismissed (or abandonned by a prosecutor or decided in your favor). You would need to secure proofs necessary to show that the action against you was pursued without probable cause and for an improper purpose.

If the larceny charge was terminated in your favor, there could be an action against the person who played the deciding role in bringing about the criminal charge (either the woman or the charging agency). If there was not evidence enough to support the charge, and no probable cause or reasonable grounds existed to support the charge, then a malicious prosecution action should be something to explore with your attorney.

For malicious prosecution, there must be proof that there was a failure by the prosecutor to adequately investigate the claims made by the woman, or proof that the woman lied or fabricated evidence which led the prosecutor to charge you with the crime. There must be clear proof of malice and lack of probable cause.

Damages for which you can potentially be compensated, should you win your suit (and there is never a guarantee that anyone will win any suit) could include an award for demonstrated loss of reputation in your community, mental suffering, economic losses, job losses, attorney fees and court costs incurred as a result of the false charge against you, and punitive damages.

Locate an attorney in your area through one of the sources given above and then discuss your options with this attorney. Any legal action that can be taken will be based on ALL of the facts of your situation, and these facts will be reviewed by your attorney to determine if there is, first, any action you can take that would have any chance of being successful and, second, if any action is worth the time, effort and expense of pursuing.

Good luck.
 
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