[zawatska]

Is it illegal to make a poster with someone's picture on it, and the word "whore"? I'm asking for a friend, she has on going issues with a girl and wants to do this out of revenge but doesn't know if it's illegal, or if she'd get caught etc.etc... lol all answers would be great. :D

Ps I told her to be the bigger person!

[Curlyben]

Certainly Libellous and that kind of action is SERIOUSLY costly!!

[zawatska]

Couldn't it be defamation of character? And she's 100% sure this is what she wants to do and I can't persuade her otherwise... u think she'll get caught? This is her plan... she wants to throw the "fliers" out of her car window onto the street.

[Curlyben]

Libel covers a whole host of defamation ALL of which are serious!!
There is an extremely good chance she WILL be caught and face serious consequences.

[twinkiedooter]

Tell your friend this is not acceptable. She could have a swell lawsuit brought against her by the victim. Tell her to grow up.

[excon]

Hello z:

If the woman is a whore then it's not illegal.

excon

[progunr]

Hello z:

If the woman is a whore then it's not illegal.

excon

He's right.

But throwing them out the car window will be.

[zawatska]

Lol thanks excon. They have had years of bickering, and bashing eachothers names. My friend called the cops on this girl because she posted stuff all over her myspace page saying my friend is too disease infested to produce a child! Ridiculous right?

I don't see my friend getting arrested, if she does this, and is accused of it. They can't charge her with anything if no one sees her do it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advising her to do it, she just wanted me to find out if she will get arrested lol

[excon]

Hello again, z:

It ISN'T a CRIME whether it's the truth or not. So, she can do it right smack in front of the cops if she wants. And, like I said above, if the object of the derision is a whore, it's not even a civil offense.

She should worry about the cops ticketing her for littering, though.

excon

[zawatska]

You are absolutely sure? Someone on here told me it could be like slander or defamation of character... She thinks the girls a whore, I don't think the girl actually gets paid for sexual acts though. :) she just sleeps around for free!

[J_9]

If the girl is NOT a whore, then it is liable. Liable is the written word and slander is the spoken word.

[Fr_Chuck]

Well first you have a issue with littering, if they are posted, many cities have laws against posting signs , they are not often enforced but let some parent or person go to the city and I bet they would be.

Next what size town and where at, if you are in a small town with a higher moral belief, using that word on a poster may be considered offensive

Trying to get back at someone is not the answer

[excon]

You are absolutely sure? Someone on here told me it could be like slander or defamation of character...

Hello again, z:

Of course, I'm sure. This IS a legal board, after all, and I'm VERY good at what I do!

But, you must really pay attention to exactly what I said. Yes, it COULD be - no, let me correct that - it IS libel, or slander or defamation of character if she's NOT a whore.

The TRUTH, however, is an absolute defense to any of those charges. But, she's got to BE A WHORE - not just what YOU or your friend thinks is a whore. I think the definition of a whore is a person who sleeps with people for money. If she doesn't do that your friend is subject to a lawsuit.

But, it's a LAWSUIT. It's NOT jail.

excon

PS> What if she substitutes the word "slut"? Sluts don't get paid.

[zawatska]

Lol sounds good excon, ill let her know. Thanks everyone! I guess this is a great way to "get back at her" since my friend is so eager to do so!

[JudyKayTee]

lol sounds good excon, ill let her know. thanks everyone! I guess this is a great way to "get back at her" since my friend is so eager to do so!

Everybody has pretty much covered everything but have you ever read this (I wrote it some time ago)? Would I rip down one of the posters and take it to an Attorney and ask? You bet I would! Of course, it all comes down to damages, who believes it, if your friend has been damaged by the posters.

From the other side the definition of a whore is a woman who engages in sexual acts for money, a prostitute; a promiscuous or immoral woman; a male who engages in sexual acts for money [found that part rather interesting ... ]; a venal or unscrupulous person. I wonder if by definition this would be a difficult case for your friend to prove. I'm not talking about the prostitution part - I'm talking about the unscrupulous or immoral part. Wonder if that's in the eyes of the beholder.

It's not like she said so and so is a prostitute - she could have used the phrase "whore" in a couple of contexts. For example, some people think divorced people are immoral. I think it's a good question for an Attorney and I'd love to know the answer. I can't imagine what your friend is going through over this.

"Briefly - Generally in law libel refers to permanent/written statements and slander refers to non-permanent/spoken statements. Defamation (of character) covers both categories.

You must be damaged - and prove damages - in order to recover. The statements (either written or spoken) must be false but presented as though they were true and be beyond offensive, derogatory or insulting. Such statement must rise to a level which actually harms a person's reputation. In general the person making the statement must either know it isn't true or make the statement without attempting to verify if it is true.

The defense to defamation is that the information was not presented as the truth (which covers gossip), that the information was never secret (privileged) and was always public."

[zawatska]

So basically this isn't a route she should legally take lol. This girl just makes everyone crazy. She sleeps with everyone's boyfriends, she yells out car windows "grub" "your poor" etc. My friend called the cop on this girl and the cops did NOTHING. Go figure... no surprise there!

[JudyKayTee]

So basically this isn't a route she should legally take lol. This girl just makes everyone crazy. She sleeps with everyones boyfriends, she yells out car windows "grub" "your poor" etc. My friend called the cop on this girl and the cops did NOTHING. Go figure...no surprise there!

No surprise there -

You and I have "discussed" before that sometimes I believe less in the law and more in karma. Eventually this person is going to blow a gasket, get stupid and careless, hurt somebody and get arrested.

In the meantime I guess there's no choice but to sit tight and see what happens next - unfortunately.

On sort of a side note I spoke to an Attorney last week about his client whose picture was taken from her Myspace page and is being posted on someone else's Myspace page as that person's photo. I don't think there's anything that can be done (back to damages) but you have to wonder when the Law will catch up with the Internet.

[zawatska]

Mm hmm. I agree. It would be hilarious though if my friend did post this girls picture everywhere. She would be so embarrassed. And I really do believe that's what this chick needs... maybe it would make her stop being such a rag to everyone and making fun of people who she doesn't even know. It would be a rude awakening that's for sure!

[Throwback24]

Don't associate with your friend, she lacks good judgment.

[kilocharlie1]

Yes of course.. its defemation of character