Here’s the situation: A grandmother and her adult daughter are in Probate court, contesting the guardianship of the grandson. Meanwhile, the sister-in-law initiated a flame-war with the daughter, culminating in a long letter that consisted of untruth from start to finish. About half of it is provable; the other half is speculative and opinion, but very damaging in its implications. Now the grandmother has introduced this letter as an “exhibit” in court. An exhibit of what is unclear. There is a cover letter stating that it is a “true and correct” copy of email correspondence between etc. etc.
I know it’s not perjury, because the sister-in-law was not present, nor under oath. But is it libel?
It seems to me a very clever way to get around the problem of actually lying yourself in court. You can have someone write a letter saying anything you want, submit the letter, and then no one is directly responsible.
I’m having a hard time understanding why it’s admissible. Maybe it’s being treated as character evidence, but if it is factually untrue I don’t understand why the judge would let it anywhere near his courtroom. It smells like some of the lowest form of hearsay.
First off, anything provable as fact is pretty much by definition not libel. So that parts out.
Beyond that, the parts that are not proven facts face a few challenges before meeting the standard for libel. First, it’s not a public communication so that might bring it down. Second, if it’s presented as one person’s opinion that is another way to get around libel.
So, you can have someone write a letter with horrible fabrications, submit it in court, and then it’s in the file forever, and it’s not legally wrong? Wow. Guess I should have thought of that. I’m always at a loss when dealing with people for whom ethics are not a problem.
IANYL, this is not legal advice, I haven’t done probate in just over 7 years…
First off, you’re missing a ton of facts. Why is there even an exhibit? Who is contesting the will? What does libelous anything have to do with anything, meaning, why was this letter written in the first place? I also take it that this letter was written to the court, and not published? Most importantly, what was actually said? Even if untrue, if it doesn’t hurt the person’s reputation, it is generally not libelous (this depends largely on the state, and the origination of the suit and I’m not familiar with CA state law on this matter).
Like as a poster previously stated, truth and matters of opinion bars a libel claim (truth being the best defense). Other defenses include: statements were made in good faith, already poor reputation, reasonable comments about an official’s act (or public interest), consent, and if the defendant can claim that he had no knowledge that a statement was defamatory. I’m sure there might be more under the common law.
In your case, it sounds like that the statements were made in court pursuant to a proceeding. Apparently, there appears to be a bar against such a claim of libel. Again, facts may change your circumstances, but from what I’m interpreting, this is how I see it (again, not a professional opinion).
Depending on how bad it can be, the court can issue a contempt of court citation against the person who made the statements, but if the court didn’t already warn that party, then such a thing probably won’t happen.
An exhibit is a document (or object) that is admitted in evidence during a trial. The fact that a document is accepted by a court as an exhibit doesn’t mean that anyone has accepted the claims as true, or even that they have been offered to prove their truth.
Statements that are part of official proceedings normally privileged against claims of libel and slander.
I am not your lawyer; you are not my client; this is not legal advice. For advice specific to your case, see a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction.