Q: Can we sue that person?
Ok so me my girlfriend and sister got pressed charges for second degree assault we three got arrested and we recently went to court and the person who pressed charges didn’t show up to none of the court dates. So we basically spend a lot of money on lawyers for no reason. That person also made our record not be clean anymore! We had no bad records until now thanks to that person. Can we sue that person for the money and time wasted? Or would that affect us?
A:
Yes, you can sue on the following theories: (1) malicious prosecution; (2) abuse of process; (3) defamation of character: and (possibly) (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress. To win, you will need to prove her allegations were both untrue, and that she knew they were untrue when she filed the charges.
Most lawyers will charge you money to bring such a suit. Unless she has money or assets to easily attach to pay a judgment, you may be throwing good money after bad.
As for your record, that can easily be expunged by filing petitions for expungement using the downloadable forms from the District Court website. However, in order to file for expungement sooner than 3 years, you must sign and filea general waiver and release of your civil claims against the person who caused the charges to be brought.
So, you have a choice to make: clean your record now, and waive your civil claims against this person; or leave the dismissed charges on your criminal background record and sue for damages, and file for expungement after 3 years (although in theory, after you get your final judgment against her, you may petition the court to grant an immediate expungement without the waiver since your civil claims will have been adjudicated).
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