Ask Me Help Desk - Should I press charges ?

Should I press charges ?

I was corresponding w/ a girl through classmates.com - she got mad on some stuff I said, I kept emailing & then come to find out she went down to the police dept. & guess she had a friend down there, he in terms comes to my home un-announced, to find out if I was corresponding or not, he then was classifying me as a bad criminal, threatening to take me to jail etc. I cooperated with him. The next thing I know he evidently got some kind of warrant to go to my job and get my stuff off my work computer ! I could not believe it. The girl told him it was threatening emails and she was scared for her life etc. I am not a bad person. So the DA has the stuff from my work computer & there was never any threatening emails to begin with, just casual emails. Should I press charges for slander & libel and also for ruining my professional reputation ?
Please advise ? Thank U !

I'm confused. Someone entered your job premises and stole data from your PC or data stored on CD?

What did she do with the material and why were you fired?

If her lies caused you to be fired and you can prove she lied, then you have a case against her.

First, please do not use e-mail or PMs to ask follow-up questions. I generally just ignore them.

But something sounds weird here. You claim someone from the DA's office came to your workplace and searched your work area and took things. Either they had a warrant or it was theft. If they had a warrant then you could challenge the warrant. If anything confiscated during this search was given to someone outside the DA's office then the DA has some trouble on his hands.

But you NEED to get an attorney. Someone who will fight the warrant and determine your best course of action.

I also am confused by this question.

I think we need more information. How were the CD's stolen etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkflowers

I was corresponding w/ a girl through classmates.com - she got mad on some stuff I said, I kept emailing & then come to find out she went down to the police dept. & guess she had a friend down there, he in terms comes to my home un-announced, to find out if I was corresponding or not, he then was classifying me as a bad criminal, threatening to take me to jail etc., I cooperated with him. The next thing I know he evidently got some kind of warrant to go to my job and get my stuff off of my work computer ! I could not believe it. the girl told him it was threatening emails and she was scared for her life etc., I am not a bad person. So the DA has the stuff from my work computer & there was never any threatening emails to begin with, just casual emails. Should I press charges for slander & libel and also for ruining my professional reputation ?
Please advise ? Thank U !

CD'S were not stolen, my hard-drive I guess you call it, was taken by the DA's office, obviously they obtained a warrant to get it, my company got mad and threw me out the door ! No job, no money,nothing all over some non-sense. My company did not even fully investigate it...

Okay, I'm still confused. What was on the hard-drive that would be considered evidence by the DA's office? Obviously there was something suspicious otherwise they wouldn't have gotten a warrant. I don't think you're telling us the whole story.

If there was nothing on it, you can sue the girl. ( assuming she has any money) well you can sue her if she is poor but will not get anything.

Also you may be able to sue your place of employment if you are cleared of all charges, since they fired you without cause, merely being a suspect, they can suspend you, but not fire you normally

But at this point, there was enough evidence for them to get a warrant.
Your main and first mistake was talking with the officer and trying to help him. YOU NEVER< EVER< NEVER talk to the police without an attorney,
Normally most people can talk thierself into trouble.

And before that, you keep emailing and emailing someone who got mad at you, ( can anyone say cyber stalking? )

You aren't listening to us. There is something missing here that you aren't telling us. Generally, to obtain a warrant, the DA has to provide proof of a crime AND proof that you were connected to that crime. That's what you aren't telling us. And I have to wonder why?

I'm wondering what exactly your emails said. Just because you believe they were innocent and casual doesn't mean others will perceive them that way. There must have been something serious if the police were able to obtain a warrant. I agree with the others, what aren't you telling us?

Yes I am wondering about what the emails said, but to their defense, police in many areas can get a warrant for almost anything, there is no hearing normally for a warrant, all the police officer does is fill out a warrant application in which he lists the reasons for the warrant, it only has to show there is a possible crime, thre is no beyond doubt, merely suspision of a crime And the informant, does not have to be named by named most of the time.

Fr_chuck does make a good point but I'm still finding it a little hard to believe that someone would really go through all of this trouble and get the police and DA to go along with it if it were really nothing. I still feel like there's something we're not being told. Because that's an awful lot just over an offensive email. If I went to any of the officers I know and said someone had sent me an offense email they'd say "and? what do you want me to do about it?" not "well, let's get a search warrant and bring the DA into it and just really make their life hell." and I live in a tiny town were half the department comes out for a speeding ticket and the whole department for a fender bender. Lol I don't know, something still isn't adding up for me

Justcurious, I have to agree, I don't think we're getting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help all of us and tell us the truth OP.

OK, sorry to be random and off topic, but what does OP stand for? I know you're referring to the person asking the question but I can't figure out what the letters stand for. Lol

OP=Original Post/Poster
It can refer to either depending on context.

While search warrants can be fairly easily obtained, the judge signing the warrant is going to want some assurance from the DA that a crime took place and there is reasonable supposition that the object of the warrant was involved.

Until we know WHY the warrant was issued we really can't help further.

I find it interesting that the OP's last post in this thread was 3 days ago (even though she was logged in yesterday). Once we tried to find out EXACTLY why the DA was able to get a warrant she clammed up. I guess that answers the question about whether she should press charges.

Her friend is the one who works for the DA's office, she did it out of pure mean-ness !
She wanted to trace where the emails were coming from ! Now she is posting on classmates.com - un-necessary mess ! I called the DA's office to report her non-sense that she is posting, and nothing was done ! Again, there were NO threatening bad emails !
She should be punished, she has too much time on her hands ! And + she ruined my professional business reputation !

You still haven't answered the question. For the DA's office to obtain a warrant they had to list some crime and why you were suspected of that crime. That's what you need to tell us before we can help you.

As it stands now, a legally obtained warrant was used to search your computer. You have no case, unless you can prove that warrant was obtained unfairly.

The old classmate is the one who got the warrant, I do not even know exactly what she told them, the warrant was obtained extremely unfair. I did nothing wrong, I said nothing bad or threatening, I guarantee it is a family friend who worked for her...
Since her husband is a lawyer they probably have lots of contacts.
Now I have no job, 2 small children to support and now what..

You are not paying attention. Nor are you answering our question. A civilian CANNOT get a warrant. Only someone in the DA's or Prosecutors office can get a warrant. The Police can't even get a warrant. A warrant has to be signed by a judge. A judge needs to be convinced that a crime took place and the warrant will help uncover evidence about that crime.

You are entitled to see a copy of that warrant. It has to detail what crime took place. If you can't or won't answer that key question, we can't help you.

Please do not use e-mails or PMs to ask questions I will not respond to them. We have told you several times what we need to know and you have not given us that info. If the DA's office acted impoperly, you have a case against them. But I haven't a clue whether they did or not, because you can't answer the key questions.

If you won't tell us the truth then hire an attorney.

How do I get a copy of the warrant ? The DA guy the girl had working for her, 1st he told me he picked it up, then he forgot his story and said the police dept. picked it up, so again, they are giving me the run-around and I have been treated extremely un-fair.
I have nothing to hide and I am telling you all that I know, obviously the girl said some false information about me to get the warrant, which I do not know what she exactly said,
So next step ? Almost 4 months. Have gone by since this episode, and I have not heard anything else again about it. I lost my job of 4yrs. (professional job mind you)...
They should pay! :mad:

First of all... you know what is in your computer and what is not. If there is nothing bad... I would definitely take action against her. If you think that the emails weren't quite so horrilble... and the cops haven't made it a case yet... sounds like the woman is a little crazy, and has some major pull with the guys in uniform!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkflowers

I have told the whole story and there is nothing else, that is why I am asking on what to do? this happened back in Jan. 08 and now it is almost 4 mos. later and I have never heard anything again! I have called the court house and there is nothing under my name, I lost my professional job of almost 4 years over this non-sense, I was terminated without any explanation and no money ! I have 2 small children to support and I was extremely mad ! that it came down to this, over just corresponding w/ an old classmate who has way too much time and money on there hands ! there were no bad emails, no bad words, nothing threatening, I believe this was her friend that did some under the table work for her, without cost, her husband is a lawyer and she just thinks she is something, so in the mean-time I have lost my job, financial dis-tress & mental of course and I want to do something about this, her private detective came to my home (un-announced) w/my 2 small children there also. again all I did was corresponded through email & I guess she just wanted to find out where the emails were coming from,which she did a good job of that ! I feel I was treated bad by my company & they made feel like a really bad criminal ! they told my co-workers not to talk to me etc. so now, what should I do ? :confused:
if this happened to you what would you do? thank you for your time.......

No, you have still not told us everything. Saying that there wasn nothing bad in your emails is not telling us what was actually said. If you're going to keep refusing to tell us the details why are you even still asking for help?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkflowers

How do I get a copy of the warrant ? the DA guy the girl had working for her, 1st he told me he picked it up, then he forgot his story and said the police dept. picked it up, so again, they are giving me the run-around and I have been treated extremely un-fair.
I have nothing to hide and I am telling you all that I know, obviously the girl said some false information about me to get the warrant, which I do not know what she exactly said,
so next step ? almost 4 mos. have gone by since this episode, and I have not heard anything else again about it. I lost my job of 4yrs. (professional job mind you)............
they should pay!! :mad:

The next step is contacting an attorney. If they did not provide you with a copy of the warrant, then they were breaking the law. Why haven't you gone to the DA's office and ask for a copy of the warrant? At this point, your best option is to talk to an attorney. If you can convince one that you are telling the truth, then you should be able to find one to take the case on a contingency basis.

As we have repeatedly said, there has to be some justification for a warrant. If you can prove that the warrant was obtained under false pretenses, then the DA's office is liable as well as the person who supplied info to the DA.

I did nothing wrong, I do want to find out what is on or what was said on that warrant, I am in the process of trying to find out and how to get a copy of it. I do not have any money for a lawyer, due to being terminated from my professional job of 4 yrs.
The girl who did all this is married to a lawyer and something tells me that they did something under the table and it was not legal... I am going to get to the bottom of this... will keep updating as I find out answers...
I have not ever been in trouble this is all new to me. I did not even know I could get a copy of the warrant that was served to my company. Do you think perhaps the HR Dept. has a copy of it in my file ? I have also called the DA guy that came to my home un-announced and he does not return my calls...

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkflowers

I do not have any money for a lawyer,

Do you think perhaps the HR Dept. has a copy of it in my file ?

Again you aren't listening. I said you should be able to find an attorney who will take this in a contingency basis. This means you pay nothing unless they win the case. But the ONLY way you will get any justice is by engaging an attorney.

Yes the HR Dept should have a copy of the warrant. Since it was served on the company to review their property (which is why you may not have been given a copy) they may have one.

I have contacted the HR Dept. for a copy of the Warrant to see exactly what it said.
I have had NO response yet...

[QUOTE=ScottGem]Again you aren't listening. I said you should be able to find an attorney who will take this in a contingency basis. This means you pay nothing unless they win the case. But the ONLY way you will get any justice is by engaging an attorney.

Yes the HR Dept should have a copy of the warrant. Since it was served on the company to review their property (which is why you may not have been given a copy) they may have one. SO WHAT SHOULD I DO IF THE HR. DEPT DOES NOT
COOPERATE ? GUESS THAT WHEN YOU REALLY HAVE TO GET A LAWYER INVOLVED !

Guess that's when you really have to get a lawyer involved? My guess would have been when you're computer was supposedly unfairly confiscated and you lost your job... if this happened a while back you should already have an attorney. Scottgem has given you some really great advice about finding a contigency basis attorney, stop being stubborn and listen to him already.
And even if the hr department does cooperate with you, what good does that do you if you don't have an attorney?

Scott Gem has given wonderful advice ! -
I work contract now on the other side of town, to support my 2 children, so it is hard for me to get away, I will have to figure something out... if I don't work, I don't get paid, trying to catch up, Anyway, YES I did loose my job over this non-sense, & I think they put some real rotten stuff about me on the warrant, I still haven't heard from the HR Dept. guess I will figure out how I will get down to the courts on the other side of town to get the report, I have also requested a copy from the police dept. which I was told by the HR dept. that the police had obtained the stuff from my previous employer & gave to the DA's office for review. Also I was told that in order to get a warrant something has to be real bad on that report to obtain anything.

Also, I would like to have the warrant paper in hand before I do seek the attorney !
& have all my ducks in a row...

Then you have a Catch 22. You may not be able to get a copy of the warrant without an attorney.

I agree. This sounds hairy. I am not saying you are wrong, but they have to have just cause to do such a thing. You may not be guilty of anything, she could just have gotten mad about something you said and happened to have a friend in the right place. But, she and the friend in the system would have to know that taking it this far would be pointless unless then had something to attempt to back it up with. The only person who could help you prove that would be an attorney. "Guilty until proven innocent". It's possible if you could prove your case you could counter claim for attorney fees, time off work, slander, libel, etc. But that will only matter if you win your case. If you are strapped for cash call the public defender, or legal aid they should be able to help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

First, please do not use e-mail or PMs to ask followup questions. I generally just ignore them.

But something sounds wierd here. You claim someone from the DA's office came to your workplace and searched your work area and took things. Either they had a warrant or it was theft. If they had a warrant then you could challenge the warrant. If anything confiscated during this search was given to someone outside the DA's office then the DA has some trouble on his hands.

But you NEED to get an attorney. Someone who will fight the warrant and determine your best course of action.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altenweg

I think we need more information. How were the CD's stolen etc.

CD'S were not stolen, they were picked up by the police dept. with some-kind of warrant, I still do not know what the warrant said... this whole thing is a mess.:mad:

Thanks for responding. The girl told the Priv. Det. That I was sending threatening emails which was not true, I did nothing wrong & now I have lost my job over all this, my company just threw me out ! Professional co. mind you, the co. terminated me and not giving me a specific reason either they did not even fully investigate the situation... :mad:

:mad: I think it is a family friend detective who helped her, her husband is a lawyer so they probably have quit a few contacts ! She said I was sending threatening emails, now 3 months. Later she says I was trying to act like her ! So what is it ! She lives in a half million dollar home which I know through a friend, stays home & has too much time on her hands ! I'm ready to get her back !:mad:

So get an attorney!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkflowers

Thanks for responding. The girl told the Priv. Det. that I was sending threatening emails which was not true, I did nothing wrong & now I have lost my job over all this, my company just threw me out ! professional co. mind you, the co., terminated me and not giving me a specific reason either they did not even fully investigate the situation......:mad:

It's not your company's responsibility to investigate this, you have to prove that you are innocent.

I agree with Scott, get an attorney, or accept what has happened and try and move on, those are you only option, we cannot help you if you are unwilling to help yourself.

Good Luck.