Your civil rights shape what you can say, where you can go, how you can participate in public life and how the government must treat you. Yet many people do not understand what these rights cover until something goes wrong — a traffic stop escalates, a landlord denies...
Defamation is when someone makes untrue statements about another party, and these statements cause significant harm. There are two general types, known as slander and libel. Libel is used for written statements, while slander is used for spoken statements. Either way,...
Being accused of shoplifting when you’ve done nothing wrong is not only embarrassing but also potentially damaging to your reputation. In California, a wrongful accusation can sometimes lead to a lawsuit against the store for false arrest or defamation. If this has...
Both slander and libel are different types of defamation. Either one can be used to defend someone’s character if false statements are made about them. The difference is simply how those statements are made, in part because of how permanent or impermanent they are....
It’s been 60 years since the United States government passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin illegal. Since then, other legislation has come along to strengthen the protections provided by...
Police officers have various types of legal authority not extended to members of the general public. For example, police officers can arrest individuals and transport them to state facilities for holding. Police officers may arrest people when they have a warrant or...
Every Californian who’s ever pulled over by a police officer has likely been asked, “Do you know why I stopped you?” It can feel like a trick question to get you to confess to speeding, weaving or almost hitting another vehicle. For some people, for a variety of...
When someone has a fatal encounter with a police officer, you often hear people ask, “Why did they run away?” or “Why didn’t they just comply?” However, for many people, an approaching police officer can cause such fear, even if they’ve done nothing wrong, that their...
Discussions about the civil rights of individuals often focus on the actions of the state. Obviously, police officers and those who work for the courts are in a position to potentially violate the civil rights of another person. However, those who have no affiliation...
The concept of a "false arrest" by a private security company may seem like a scenario from a dystopian novel, yet it's a real issue that can have profound implications for those affected. Understanding what constitutes a false arrest in this context is crucial for...