Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Florida

In 2008, I was arrested and charged with 6 felonies by my university Police Department. They never had proper evidence to link me to all of these charges. I was suspended from the University for 2 years until the case was resolved. They eventually dismissed the case later "due to no information filed". I just graduated May 2013 from that same university and I am now ready to pursue a Defamation or some of type of false arrest lawsuit due to the fact this these charges are still on my file and I am unable to get a job in my field of study due to these felony charges even though on my background they show "dismissed" but yhe fact of the matter is that employers see this and I am immdediately rejected. I was wrongfully arrested and they never had any proof I did anything. Is there a case here?


Asked on 7/30/13, 11:55 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

That the case was dismissed does not mean you were arrested wrongfully. Cases are dismissed for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with whether the defendant is guilty. For example, some cases are dismissed because the prosecutor decides the evidence is too weak to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Others are dismissed because the prosecutor's office is too busy to handle all the cases the police bring to it, and has to let some go as a result. There are a variety of other reasons. They usually come to light long after the arrest, so they have no bearing on whether the arrest was proper at the time.

Do you have a case? Only if you can prove that the police and/or prosecutor knew you were innocent but proceeded against you anyway. (It would be enough to show that they learned of your innocence while the case was underway but then failed to promptly drop the charges.) That rarely happens, and even when it does it's hard to prove.

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Answered on 7/30/13, 3:04 pm


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