Can I sue for slander?

[Lumaster]

if someone goes around telling others that someone is a gunman or potential gunman when they're not and others begin to look at them like there a terrorist and It gets them kicked out of school and everyone gets everything set up so they can arrest this person when and now they are looked at differently because of what was said can they sue for defamation of character?

 

[quincy]

if someone goes around telling others that someone is a gunman or potential gunman when they're not and others begin to look at them like there a terrorist and It gets them kicked out of school and everyone gets everything set up so they can arrest this person when and now they are looked at differently because of what was said can they sue for defamation of character?

For defamation cases, the country matters and, if in the US, the name of the state matters. Can you provide this information, please?

In the US, falsely accusing someone of a crime would generally be considered defamatory (defamatory per se, or on its face, in some states) and the person falsely accused could potentially pursue legal action against the one who did the defaming.

 

[Lumaster]

The country would be United States and the state would be Arkansas

 

[Proserpina]

Please stick to just one thread; there's no need to ask the same question in four different sections.

Back to defamation. Arkansas doesn't recognize defamation per se so you would have to show actual damages. Defamation suits are inherently expensive to pursue in terms of both time and money, and the chances of you collecting on any damages would typically be slim at best. You'd probably be looking at spending several years (if short) and tens of thousands of dollars (if cheap) to actually finance a lawsuit against someone who has defamed you.

Is that fair? Perhaps not. But it is realistic.

 

[quincy]

The country would be United States and the state would be Arkansas

Thank you for providing your state name.

Here is a link to Arkansas Code Section 16-63-207 on defamation laws in your state: http://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/2010/title-16/subtitle-5/chapter-63/subchapter-2/16-63-207

Someone who falsely states or implies that another person is a gunman or a potential gunman could potentially be sued by the person who has had false statements of this nature made against him and the suit could be a successful one. It depends on the facts.

Do you know of someone who has been accused in this manner?

 

[CdwJava]

if someone goes around telling others that someone is a gunman or potential gunman when they're not and others begin to look at them like there a terrorist and It gets them kicked out of school and everyone gets everything set up so they can arrest this person when and now they are looked at differently because of what was said can they sue for defamation of character?

Getting arrested requires probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. How is that "slander?"

As others have suggested, details matter. Who has been accused of what? And was the person ultimately arrested for what they were accused of? That might make successfully suing for slander a wee bit difficult.

 

[Lumaster]

Please stick to just one thread; there's no need to ask the same question in four different sections.

Back to defamation. Arkansas doesn't recognize defamation per se so you would have to show actual damages. Defamation suits are inherently expensive to pursue in terms of both time and money, and the chances of you collecting on any damages would typically be slim at best. You'd probably be looking at spending several years (if short) and tens of thousands of dollars (if cheap) to actually finance a lawsuit against someone who has defamed you.

Is that fair? Perhaps not. But it is realistic.

The person who this happened to got kicked out of school and is looked at as dangerous and as a threat. The staff of the college perception on this person has changed even though he was smart and a good student with good grades

 

[Proserpina]

The person who this happened to got kicked out of school and is looked at as dangerous and as a threat. The staff of the college perception on this person has changed even though he was smart and a good student with good grades

That's unfortunate, but it does suggest that there may have been already existing factors present before this happened.

 

[Lumaster]

Getting arrested requires probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. How is that "slander?"

As others have suggested, details matter. Who has been accused of what? And was the person ultimately arrested for what they were accused of? That might make successfully suing for slander a wee bit difficult.

A crime was never committed sir. The person was just falsely accused of being a gunman which they aren't. There was no probable cause to prove it

 

[quincy]

The person who this happened to got kicked out of school and is looked at as dangerous and as a threat. The staff of the college perception on this person has changed even though he was smart and a good student with good grades

It would be very smart for this person to consult with an attorney in his area, if he hasn't done so already. If there is some evidence to support the fact that he might be a danger to the student population or to others, a defamation suit would be difficult to pursue with success (but not necessarily impossible).

 

[Lumaster]

That's unfortunate, but it does suggest that there may have been already existing factors present before this happened.

A lady used what a lieutenant said that a person said about them to say she felt threatened that he would come after her to say that the person is a gunman but the person never said anything about the woman to the lieutenant

 

[Proserpina]

A crime was never committed sir. The person was just falsely accused of being a gunman which they aren't. There was no probable cause to prove it

This person made an off-the-cuff threat to someone, didn't he?

Holding his ground, maybe? The other guy ran his mouth a bit?

 

[Proserpina]

A lady used what a lieutenant said that a person said about them to say she felt threatened that he would come after her to say that the person is a gunman but the person never said anything about the woman to the lieutenant

I doubt that can ever be proven.

I agree with quincy. I also don't see any viable case here, though the person is absolutely encouraged to seek local counsel.

 

[Eekamouse]

Is the person a gun owner?

 

[Lumaster]

It would be very smart for this person to consult with an attorney in his area, if he hasn't done so already. If there is some evidence to support the fact that he might be a danger to the student population or to others, a defamation suit would be difficult to pursue with success (but not necessarily impossible).

The person may have a mental illness, but there are many other students wit the same thing which makes it possible that they could do something but yet they are not looked at as serious threats and being labeled as gunman