What are my rights regarding slander if I was arrested for allegedly distributing and manufacturing marijuana but the charges were dropped?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What are my rights regarding slander if I was arrested for allegedly distributing and manufacturing marijuana but the charges were dropped?

The charges were settled in court and they were dropped. The father of the second party is threatening my employer that if they do not fire me they will go to the paper slandering the name of the business. Is this legal and what should I do?

Asked on May 9, 2013 under Personal Injury, Oregon

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Slander is a form of defamation. Defamation is the publication or making to others of a false statement of fact which damages a person's (or business's) reputation. True facts are not defamation, even if harmful. If the father only reports the truth to a paper--that you were arrested for distribution and manufacture, but the charges were ultimately settled--he has done nothing illegal. Similarly, while someone may not use illegal means to pressure a person or business to do something (e.g. no threats of violence or of disclosing private or confidential information), there is nothing illegal about using legal pressure on a business (such as a boycott, for example); therefore, there appears to be nothing illegal about saying to a business that if it continues to employ a person who had been arrested for drugs, that another person will report a true story about that to the newspaper.

On the other hand, if what he reports is not the truth, that may  be defamation and give you and/or the business a legal claim against him.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption