# Can lawyers be sued if they make false accusations in court?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-lawyers-be-sued-if-they-make-false-accusations-in-court/302485>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 5, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-lawyers-be-sued-if-they-make-false-accusations-in-court/302485 "2005-05-05T02:53:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-lawyers-be-sued-if-they-make-false-accusations-in-court/302485/1 "2005-05-05T02:53:55Z")

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I don’t know how common this is in real life, but in TV shows defence attorneys often accuse someone else of a crime. Can the person they accuse sue them for slander or libel?

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**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-lawyers-be-sued-if-they-make-false-accusations-in-court/302485/2 "2005-05-05T08:19:44Z")

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Nothing a lawyer says in court counts unless he is testifying.

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-lawyers-be-sued-if-they-make-false-accusations-in-court/302485/3 "2005-05-05T13:14:50Z")

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I don’t think it’s quite as expansive as **ouryL** makes it out to be. My lay understanding is that lawyers have “qualified immunity” from civil liability based on non-testamentary statements made in court, but IIRC there must be a good faith basis for the statement, including accusing a party of commiting a crime.

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-lawyers-be-sued-if-they-make-false-accusations-in-court/302485/4 "2005-05-05T13:57:10Z")

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According to Prosser and Keeton on Torts, the privilege is absolute, except that American courts hold that the statements must be relevant to to some issue in the case.