What do you do if a newspaper wrote a front page story and called you a thief before convicted?

Question

What do you do if a newspaper wrote a front page story about a crime and called you a thief before you were convicted and stated inacurate facts, and put your name? There also was some lewd comments after the story. Is this libal defamation? Or are you just guilty before you can be proven inocent.

Answer 1

sounds like libel to me, you should consult an attorney.

Answer 2

The rule in our country is that an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

In the specific case you cited where I was named the thief before conviction, I would not issue a statement of denial if I know in my heart that I committed the crime. But if I were not at all guilty of the crime charged, that fact will come out at the end of the trial.

Answer 3

i would like to see this article before accepting your version of what has transpired. did they really call you a thief? like, Bill Jones, a local thief, was arrested yesterday.....?it sounds like you are in trouble with the law, and in this circumstance you are not in a good position to judge this situation impartially. in the newspaper business, people who are written about often think they've been libeled, but it's fairly hard to prove libel in court, and people who work for the newspaper know that and usually know pretty well what is libelous and what is not. you could look for a lawyer to represent you on this, but you would have to be prepared to pay him or her in advance, because the odds of them recovering on a libel claim are pretty slim. also, if you are facing charges, the first defense to libel is the truth, so if you are convicted you don't have a libel case anymore.

Answer 4

It considered slander and defamation of character if they have accused you directly of being a thief or anything else without you being proven guilty. They can say said person has been accused of theft and so on but not said person is a thief. If you are proven not guilty you have the right to sue.

Answer 5

(1) Libel is only actionable if the statements made are FACTS not opinion... so "lewd comments" are generally not actionable (unless they said something like "you had sex with your mother, too...")
(2) Truth is a defense to libel. But if the article is "convicting you" before you've been convicted, then you may have a case -- (see Duke LaCrosse scandal)

Answer 6

I don't think you have much grounds but get an attorney, they could help you plus you'll need them to sort through the jury pool now because if anyone read it they could be tossed off the case for having pre conceived notions. I think for the most part the media can hammer you all they want, look at Paris Hilton but a good attorney should be able to take care of it.

Answer 7

Aside from the uninformed opinions so far, what this is called exactly is nothing. Simply put, no one can offer a valid legal opinion unless they have read the story and you have not provided even the rudimentary facts on which to base such a legal opinion.

Also, it would be nice to know if you live in the U.S. and in what state.

Answer 8

You are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, those constitutional protections dont apply to the court of public opinion. For you to prove libel you would have to be able to prove that the paper prints items knowing they were false. What was it that you stole?

Answer 9

Are you a thief? Just because DA does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that does not mean you are not a thief. Also look into slander.

Answer 10

This is very common, they finish with your life before you're convicted of anything. There should be something one can do, I'll consult it with a lawyer. Usually, an initial consultation is free.

Answer 11

Depends - were you caught red-handed and arrested and indicted o the charges?

Were there witnesses and such.

It's not libel if the facts are true even if you haven't been convicted yet.