How to Defend Yourself when Falsely Charged with a Crime

We all, at some point in our lives, have to deal with someone saying something about us that is not true, and sometimes these false accusations can be extreme, rising to the level of libel or slander. If you have been falsely charged with some crime, the first thing you need to do is take it seriously, as sadly, especially in this modern, digital age, lies spread much farther and much faster than the truth, which can have disastrous consequences on your life, career, and well-being. Sadly, the truth is not as interesting to most people, and you will not be able to rely on your own innocence to somehow make its way to the top and win the case, so this guide was written to give you some basic steps to take and tips which will help you defend yourself. With the introduction out of the way, let’s jump right in. 

Stay Calm..and Quiet

The first instinctive natural reaction you have when someone lies about you or something you did is to defend yourself, loudly and angrily, and that is completely normal and natural, of course. But don’t. As difficult as it is, you cannot let yourself get angry and loud and defensive, you will just be adding fuel to an already hungry fire and opening yourself up to additional scrutiny and questions like “If it is not true, why would you get so angry?” and similar senseless questions, and giving them a chance to twist your words into something ridiculous and use it against you. The best initial defense is to stay as calm as possible and silent, and instead, reach out to an attorney like an experienced criminal lawyer in Milwaukee, and ask for their counsel, see if your accuser is doing something illegal, and what their rights are if that is the case. An experienced attorney will already have done this numerous times, know exactly what steps you need to take, and advise you as to whether it would be in your best interest to let the whole situation blow over without responding or if you should respond or pursue legal action against your accuser. Either way, definitely do not communicate privately or publicly with them, and let your lawyer speak for you instead. 

Slander, Libel, and Defamation

Slander, libel, and defamation are all similar terms that fall under the same general area in the legal world called defamation law, and all three of them concern false accusations or statements that can damage someone’s reputation. Defamation is when someone makes a false statement publicly or to a third party about someone else’s character, directly harming them in the process. You can also think of this as backbiting. Now, slander and libel are both types of defamation, where libel is defaming someone through the written word, for example, online, as is most commonly the case nowadays, in a publication, article, blog, or even through a tweet. Slander is also defaming someone, but orally, saying something that attacks that person’s personal life, character, or professional standing. 

When to Take Legal Action

Once you have reached out to a lawyer, the question becomes, when can or should you take legal action against someone who has accused you of something? The short answer is that when their accusation has damaged your personal or professional life and they have said, written, or posted something about you, in real life or online, without your authorization or consent, making false accusations or statements about you have broken the law or something similar, then you and your attorney should file a defamation lawsuit. The aim here is to receive compensation for any personal or professional damage you may have suffered and to clear your name. Unless your accuser in the lawsuit committed perjury, which is lying on the stand while under oath or lying in the criminal proceedings, they will not see prison time, as again, that is not the goal of a defamation lawsuit, but compensation. 

Gather Evidence

As soon as you are aware of the claims against you, you should start gathering evidence of any sort. Physical evidence, like documents, photographs, clothing, or any objects that might help your defense, collect them all as soon as you can and hand them to your attorney. The same thing goes for any documentation, screenshots of conversations, emails, receipts, or even GPS data to prove where you were and provide an alibi for when the crime was committed. With your attorney, make a list of potential witnesses who can help prove your innocence and obtain their contact information, but again, do not try to approach anyone by yourself or have conversations alone, as that is potential ammo that might be used against you. Keep your lawyer next to you at all times, informed, and in the loop; they are your lifeline at the moment, and doing anything without them knowing is not bound to end well. Also, stay far, far away from the accuser, do not approach them or try to ask them why they made up those things about you. Do not try to message or call them or somehow get in touch with them, just do what your lawyer tells you to and you should be fine. 

Don't's

We have already been through some of the things you should definitely not do during the whole proceedings, like getting loud, defensive, or angry, or contacting the accuser, and so on. There are also some other do-nots we can add to the list, like destroying evidence that you think might hurt you. Absolutely do not do that, as you will just be making the situation worse. Do not talk to the police or prosecutor without your lawyer present, and do not consent to any DNA or any other tests the police request, again, without your lawyer present. 

Being accused of a crime, or just being accused of something heinous in general, can be a traumatizing, emotionally draining experience. So, you mustn't lose control over yourself and contact an attorney immediately, in addition to everything else we have covered here.