Do I Have Recourse for False Statements Made in a Custody Mediation Hearing?
Full Question:
Answer:
Statements made in court proceedings are privileged against a claim of defamation. Defamation is an act of communication that causes someone to be shamed, ridiculed, held in contempt, lowered in the estimation of the community, or to lose employment status or earnings or otherwise suffer a damaged reputation. Such defamation is couched in 'defamatory language'. Libel and slander are subcategories of defamation. Defamation is primarily covered under state law, but is subject to First Amendment guarantees of free speech. The scope of constitutional protection extends to statements of opinion on matters of public concern that do not contain or imply a provable factual assertion.
Slander is oral communication meeting these conditions:
1. a defamatory statement;
2. published to third parties;
3. which the speaker or publisher knew or should have known was false; and
4. that caused the plaintiff injury as a result of the statement
Defamation is a difficult wrong to prove, as there are various factors that are to be taken into consideration. The court must evaluate the defendant’s investigation, or lack there of, concerning the accuracy of the statement. How thoroughly the investigation was handled will reflect upon the nature and interest of the person who communicated the statement. Generally, defamation damages will not be awarded if the defendant had an honest but yet mistaken belief in the truth of the statement. The amount of damages that can be awarded is a matter of subjective determination for the court, based on all the facts and circumstances in each case.
Defamation is an act of communication that causes someone to be shamed, ridiculed, held in contempt, lowered in the estimation of the community, or to lose employment status or earnings or otherwise suffer a damaged reputation. Such defamation is couched in 'defamatory language'. Libel and slander are subcategories of defamation. Defamation is primarily covered under state law, but is subject to First Amendment guarantees of free speech. The scope of constitutional protection extends to statements of opinion on matters of public concern that do not contain or imply a provable factual assertion.
Libel is published material meeting these conditions:
1. a defamatory statement;
2. published to third parties;
3. which the speaker or publisher knew or should have known was false; and
4. that caused the plaintiff injury as a result of the statement
Defamation is a difficult wrong to prove, as there are various factors that are to be taken into consideration. The court must evaluate the defendant’s investigation, or lack there of, concerning the accuracy of the statement. How thoroughly the investigation was handled will reflect upon the nature and interest of the person who communicated the statement. Generally, defamation damages will not be awarded if the defendant had an honest but yet mistaken belief in the truth of the statement. The amount of damages that can be awarded is a matter of subjective determination for the court, based on all the facts and circumstances in each case.
A false stement under oath, such as an affidavit, may lead to perjury charges. Please see the following MA statutes:
G.L.c. 268, § 1. Perjury.
Section 1. Whoever, being lawfully required to depose the truth in a
judicial proceeding or in a proceeding in a course of justice, wilfully
swears or affirms falsely in a matter material to the issue or point in
question, or whoever, being required by law to take an oath or
affirmation, wilfully swears or affirms falsely in a matter relative to
which such oath or affirmation is required, shall be guilty of perjury.
Whoever commits perjury on the trial of an indictment for a capital crime
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any
term of years, and whoever commits perjury in any other case shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty
years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by
imprisonment in jail for not more than two and one half years, or by both
such fine and imprisonment in jail.
An indictment or complaint for violation of this section alleging
that, in any proceedings before or ancillary to any court or grand jury
proceedings relating to an indictment or complaint for the commission of a
violent crime, as defined in section 121 of chapter 140, the defendant
under oath has knowingly made 2 or more declarations, which are
inconsistent to the degree that 1 of them is necessarily false, need not
specify which declaration is false if: (1) each declaration was material
to the point in question and (2) each declaration was made within the
period of the statute of limitations for the offense charged under this
section. In any prosecution under this section, the falsity of a
declaration set forth in the indictment or complaint shall be established
sufficient for conviction by proof that the defendant, while under oath,
made irreconcilably contradictory declarations material to the point in
question. If, in the same continuous court or grand jury proceeding in
which a declaration is made, the person making the declaration admits to
such declaration to be false, such admission shall bar prosecution under
this section if, at the time the admission is made, the declaration has
not substantially affected the proceeding, or it has not become manifest
that such falsity has been or will be exposed. It shall be a defense to
an indictment or complaint made pursuant to this section that the
defendant, at the time he made each declaration, believed each such
declaration to be true or its falsity was the result of a good faith
mistake or error.
G.L.c. 268, § 1A. Statements containing declaration relative to penalties
of perjury; verification; false statements.
Section 1A. No written statement required by law shall be required to
be verified by oath or affirmation before a magistrate if it contains or
is verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties
of perjury. Whoever signs and issues such a written statement containing
or verified by such a written declaration shall be guilty of perjury and
subject to the penalties thereof if such statement is wilfully false in a
material matter.
