Seattle, WA asked in Personal Injury, Civil Rights and Communications Law for Idaho

Q: Someone has texted me calling me very horrible foul names and has degraded my character and who i am as a person..

This person has attacked my character by texting me hateful things about who i am as a person and falsely accused me of harrassment and did not show up to court when i did to prove my innocence.. i have felt violated and humiliated and attacked.. What can i do about this? It has affected me emotionally, physically and mentally

1 Lawyer Answer

A: The person who texted you is welcome to say what they think about you, once. They don't commit a crime unless they text you again after texting them to "NEVER TEXT ME AGAIN." If they text you again, they have committed the crime of "disturbing the peace," Idaho Code 18-6409. If they copy the text they sent you and send it to anyone else, they are committing "slander." "Slander" is defined as an UNtrue statement about you, communicated to anyone else. If you hear from a friend that such a statement came from the person who texted you, then you have an actionable case for slander against them. If the same person texts you again after telling him not to, you should go to the County Prosecutor or City Attorney and show them the texts and they have the tools they need to identify the person. If you sue and win a suit for slander you have the right to collect money from them. As a practical matter, you would need to have money to sue so I recommend that you report this as a criminal matter if he contacts you again.

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