Can I sue someone misuse of the word retarded.

[ifitlive]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Yes I am in the US.


I have a disabled daughter who is mentally retarded and I have been offended by a person's reference of "retarded". I also believe, that there are a group of other persons who feel as strongly as myself.

The person who we are interested in sueing is a public official?
Can this be done.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Yes I am in the US.


I have a disabled daughter who is mentally retarded and I have been offended by a person's reference of "retarded". I also believe, that there are a group of other persons who feel as strongly as myself.

The person who we are interested in sueing is a public official?
Can this be done.

Sue for what?

The word "retarded" has become much more main-stream recently.

 

[justalayman]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Yes I am in the US.


I have a disabled daughter who is mentally retarded and I have been offended by a person's reference of "retarded". I also believe, that there are a group of other persons who feel as strongly as myself.

The person who we are interested in sueing is a public official?
Can this be done.

are Sarah Palin incognito?

Generally, use of a word in itself is not actionable as we do have the rights enumerated within the Constitution. In those would be included the right of free speech as listed in the 1st amendment to the Constitution.

generally being offended in itself by a word does not give rise to a cause for a legal action. If it did, there would be literally millions of law suits possible based on everyday conversation.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

Yes, you can sue. I don't see a very good chance of you winning. Being offensive is not actionable.

 

[tranquility]

The malice standard is for suing is when the defamation is about a public official/person and not by one.

While it is technically correct that anyone can sue, what you're asking is can you win? No, period. A multitude of reasons.

--Being offended is not actionable. If it were, most anyone who posts to this forum is in grave danger.

--You don't have standing to sue. The purported harm is not focused enough on you. (Or, your daughter.)

--Governmental immunity.

--As Zigner said, for what?

 

[rmorlock]

Suing could bring negative attention to this public official, something he would not want.

 

[Proserpina]

Suing could bring negative attention to this public official, something he would not want.

Except that OP has no standing to sue.

 

[xylene]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Yes I am in the US.

Well, I think you may not be very literate, or you are very literal

---

As an aside, anybody remember an earlier Tiger Woods scandal.

"I putted like a spazz."

In American colloquial English "spazz" means klutz or clod or a person lacking coordination.

In the UK, "spazz" is a derogatory term for a sufferer of cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular disorders, an alternate meaning with which few in the USA have any familiarity.

 

[csi7]

If the statement was made in public during a recorded meeting, it becomes a matter of record.

A public official does not have the freedom to speak, even in private, in a way that reflects negatively upon the office which they represent.

I would get in touch with several different agencies that deal with this type of issue to learn how to resolve it professionally.

 

[Zigner]

A public official does not have the freedom to speak, even in private, in a way that reflects negatively upon the office which they represent.

Care to cite the law behind this absurd statement?

 

[Isis1]

Well, I think you may not be very literate, or you are very literal

---

As an aside, anybody remember an earlier Tiger Woods scandal.

"I putted like a spazz."

In American colloquial English "spazz" means klutz or clod or a person lacking coordination.

In the UK, "spazz" is a derogatory term for a sufferer of cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular disorders, an alternate meaning with which few in the USA have any familiarity.

well, then by all means, Proserpina should file a lawsuit since it offends her!

 

[Proserpina]

well, then by all means, Proserpina should file a lawsuit since it offends her!

Well, quite!

(In case anyone is interested - and to elaborate further on xylene's great post - it stems from the still somewhat common use of "spastic". We're not nearly as PC in England as folk tend to be in the US, although the major charity Spastic Society did change its name to SCOPE back in the 90s )