help

[Cassafrass]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
OK so my husband got a DUI last year. His mother was there when he was arrested and she kind of got in the middle of the ******* police officers who were arresting him. She is a 53 year old woman who would never hurt a fly. They TASED her in the neck and the back and arrested her for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. my husband took a plea deal for his charges but his mother took hers to court because she did not assault them! and how can you put your hands behind your back when you are writhing around on the ground from being shocked?! Anyway, she had her court hearing recently even though this all happened more than a year ago. And of course it was in the paper because we live in a very small town. She was found not guilty of assault by the way and is suing them for tasing her. They wrote that my husband was on bath salts when he got his DUI. That is not true. At all. They took him to get his blood taken and there were no bath salts found in his system we have proof. Its in court documents saying what was found in his system and bath salts was not found. He was taking a prescription medicine that you were not suppose to be driving on. He did get a DUI im not saying he didn't but the paper printed false information. He was not on bath salts. It makes him look terrible and has been having a terrible time finding a job ever since this was printed and it is a lie!! Can I sue the paper for lying? They were obviously careless in their preparation for this article.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
OK so my husband got a DUI last year. His mother was there when he was arrested and she kind of got in the middle of the ******* police officers who were arresting him. She is a 53 year old woman who would never hurt a fly. They TASED her in the neck and the back and arrested her for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. my husband took a plea deal for his charges but his mother took hers to court because she did not assault them! and how can you put your hands behind your back when you are writhing around on the ground from being shocked?! Anyway, she had her court hearing recently even though this all happened more than a year ago. And of course it was in the paper because we live in a very small town. She was found not guilty of assault by the way and is suing them for tasing her. They wrote that my husband was on bath salts when he got his DUI. That is not true. At all. They took him to get his blood taken and there were no bath salts found in his system we have proof. Its in court documents saying what was found in his system and bath salts was not found. He was taking a prescription medicine that you were not suppose to be driving on. He did get a DUI im not saying he didn't but the paper printed false information. He was not on bath salts. It makes him look terrible and has been having a terrible time finding a job ever since this was printed and it is a lie!! Can I sue the paper for lying? They were obviously careless in their preparation for this article.

No, you can't sue for this. Your husband MAY be able to sue, but c'mon...do you REALLY want to scream that he was on drug A and not drug B? Potato Potato.

 

[Silverplum]

Always try to reconcile before suing. Try a request for a retraction/correction. Here are some examples: http://www.writeexpress.com/reques20.html

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
OK so my husband got a DUI last year. His mother was there when he was arrested and she kind of got in the middle of the ******* police officers who were arresting him. She is a 53 year old woman who would never hurt a fly. They TASED her in the neck and the back and arrested her for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. my husband took a plea deal for his charges but his mother took hers to court because she did not assault them! and how can you put your hands behind your back when you are writhing around on the ground from being shocked?! Anyway, she had her court hearing recently even though this all happened more than a year ago. And of course it was in the paper because we live in a very small town. She was found not guilty of assault by the way and is suing them for tasing her. They wrote that my husband was on bath salts when he got his DUI. That is not true. At all. They took him to get his blood taken and there were no bath salts found in his system we have proof. Its in court documents saying what was found in his system and bath salts was not found. He was taking a prescription medicine that you were not suppose to be driving on. He did get a DUI im not saying he didn't but the paper printed false information. He was not on bath salts. It makes him look terrible and has been having a terrible time finding a job ever since this was printed and it is a lie!! Can I sue the paper for lying? They were obviously careless in their preparation for this article.

Your husband was arrested and charged with a DUI and accepted a plea deal, and that could be seen as the vital part of his story (I imagine the major part of the story centered on the antics of his mom and the police officer). The story as it concerned your husband could potentially be seen as substantially true.

That said, a DUI reported falsely in the news as resulting from the use of bath salts does paint an entirely different picture of your husband than a DUI reported truthfully as resulting from the use (or misuse) of prescription medicines.

A false fact of the sort that was published can in some cases support a defamation claim, depending on all sorts of facts, including where the "bath salts" information came from. If the newspaper reported accurately what was found in the police report of the incident, the odds of a defamation suit against the newspaper being a successful one for your husband are not at all good. On the other hand, if the information was "old information" and the newspaper should have known the DUI was the result of prescription medicine, the odds of a suit being successful are slightly improved.

I agree with Silverplum that you need to, first, inform the newspaper of their error so they can print a retraction. The newspaper may or may not publish one, as publishing a retraction admits to an error. If a defamation suit is possible, they might not want to make that admission (although a retraction can mitigate any damages that might be awarded against them in a lawsuit).

After requesting a retraction, your husband can then discuss with an attorney in your area whether pursuing a legal action against the paper would be worthwhile.

There are several factors to consider before filing a lawsuit against a newspaper. One factor is knowing in advance that any lawsuit against a newspaper stands to be an extremely costly and time consuming one. Another factor is knowing in advance that your husband's DUI will get FAR more press attention than it otherwise would. And a third factor is knowing in advance that the newspaper will probably win.

Your husband has one year from the date of the publication to file a defamation suit. He has time to speak to a few defamation attorneys in his area for a review of all facts.

One additional note: Any DUI arrest and conviction will make a job search more difficult and also affects what can be shown as reputational injury suffered as a result of the newspaper story. The injury can result from a DUI alone.

 

[eerelations]

Bath salts? Bath salts can get you high? Wut?

 

[quincy]

Bath salts? Bath salts can get you high? Wut?

Yup. You have to watch it when taking bubble baths.

"Bath salts" (Cloud 9, Bliss, etc) are synthetic drugs with known serious and dangerous (and sometimes deadly) side-effects.

Here is a link: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/synthetic-cathinones-bath-salts

 

[eerelations]

Aaaah so "bath salts" is a euphemism...I was thinkin' actual bath salts like I have in my bathroom (and then wondering, hey, if I'm feeling stressed out, can I snort them?) - thank goodness you set me straight or I would have ended up with one heckuva sore nose!

It's interesting that OP uses this term "bath salts" in her post, sounds like she knows what it really means! Which means?

 

[quincy]

Ha. I am glad to have spared you a few days of discomfort (and a very red nose), eerelations.

By the way, and in fairness to Cassafrass, I knew what she was referring to when she used the term "bath salts" - and that only means I work in Detroit. Detroiters tend to know stuff like this.

 

[Zigner]

Ha. I am glad to have spared you a few days of discomfort (and a very red nose), eerelations.

By the way, and in fairness to Cassafrass, I knew what she was referring to when she used the term "bath salts" - and that only means I work in Detroit. Detroiters tend to know stuff like this.

It was big news for a little while over the last couple of years here in the LA area...it tends to make folks bite the faces off of other folks...or so I've heard.

 

[Silverplum]

It was big news for a little while over the last couple of years here in the LA area...it tends to make folks bite the faces off of other folks...or so I've heard.

I've read about those gross "incidents." It's not a thang in beloved Denvertown, and I hope it never is. We're busy with other, friendlier things.

 

[quincy]

It was big news for a little while over the last couple of years here in the LA area...it tends to make folks bite the faces off of other folks...or so I've heard.

I imagine that would be one of the less desirable side effects.

 

[Proserpina]

I imagine that would be one of the less desirable side effects.

A whole new method of "keeping your nose out of the business of others", non?

 

[quincy]

I've read about those gross "incidents." ... We're busy with other, friendlier things.

Not to worry my favorite Coloradoans but at least one of the fellows who decided to feast on a face - and who was widely reported in the news as being on bath salts at the time of his face-eating frenzy - tested positive for marijuana only.

Of course, the guy was also known to have some mental health problems which could () have been a contributing factor.