A woman told the sheriff I was violent do I have a defamation suit?

If someone makes damaging and false statements about you and you suffer personal loss or injury, you may have the right to file a personal injury claim against them to recover compensation for your loss. If the information is published in a non-fixed medium, it is consider slander; if it is published in a fixed medium, it is libel.

Recently on our legal forum a user asked, “If a woman contacted the sheriff’s department and told the sheriff I was violent can I file a slander lawsuit against this woman for defamation of character?”

Proving personal injury by slander

Living in a free country and having freedom of speech allows individuals to express their opinions freely. Often we may be offended and not like what they have to say, but their speech may not always rise to the level of slander.

There are statements, however, that move past merely offensive statements of opinion and are made as statements of fact, and these statements cause personal injury or loss.

Before considering whether or not you can file a slander lawsuit you need to understand what is and is not slander and what you would have to prove to win your case. For example, to prove slander you will need to prove the following elements of your claim.

1. The information was spoken.
2. The information was published. Publishing refers to the transmission of the information to a third party. The information does not have to be actually published. It can simply be spoken to a third party or broadcast on the television or the radio.
3. The statement is not true. For example, if a woman called her friend after you had a violent outburst and threatened to injure her or she saw you beating up another person, concluded your were violent, and told her friend, you would have a difficult time arguing the information she shared to her friend was slander because the information was true.
4. The information must cause injury. Injury can include damage to your reputation, financial loss, or pain and suffering. If the information did not cause any injury, you do not have a personal injury claim.
5. The statement must be unprivileged. Privileged statements include those made by legislative members and by witnesses who testify in court. For example, if this woman was a witness in a court case against you where you were on trial for assault and battery and she gives testimony that you are violent, she cannot be sued for slander.

Defamation per se

Now, there is another consideration and that is whether or not a statement made is defamation per se. For example, under certain state laws (with the exception of Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Missouri) certain statements are assumed to be defamatory if they are not true and they are conveyed to a third party.

Common statements which may be considered so damaging that they may be defamation per se can include that a person has a sexually transmitted disease, a person is a criminal, or a person is promiscuous.

If you are able to prove defamation per se you may win your injury claim without having to prove that you suffered injury to your reputation or emotional distress. The injury award would simply be affirmed.

Defense of Defamation- privileged

Let’s take a closer look at a common defense to defamation which may apply to your particular case– privilege. Under many statutes a person will be afforded privilege to make statements and will be protected from defamation.

For example, if you are walking through a parking lot and you see someone breaking into a car and you call the police to report it. What happens when the police come to arrest the alleged perpetrator only to find that they are the owners of the car and they had lost their keys? Can they sue you for defamation? No, because there is a statutory privilege given to persons making a good-faith report to the police. 

What if you and your spouse are involved in a custody suit and your spouse says things which you believe are false to the court-appointed evaluator? What if that information finds its way into the report or is given to the court? What if your ex-spouse decides to call the police, Child Protective Services, or the school district?

Under these conditions you are generally barred from filing any type of personal injury claim because of litigation privilege. Exceptions may exist, however, if your spouse publishes the information and shares it with a third party who does not have interest in the dispute.

Do I have a slander claim?

As you can see with the information provided above, winning a slander case can be very difficult. You will have to prove certain elements of your claim and provide evidence that you were slandered. If the statements this woman made to the sheriff are true, you do not have a case. If this woman had absolute privilege (i.e., she was testifying at your trial), you do not have a case.

Not only do you have to prove the elements outlined above, you will also have to prove loss or injury (assuming it was not defamation per se). Generally, courts view libel cases as more serious than slander cases due to the fact that the defamatory statement has been published in a fixed medium. Talk to a personal injury lawyer if you have questions about your case.