A student in a California public high school was asked into the
principal?s office for questioning in regards to a crime that she did
not commit and knew nothing about. The student was subsequently
released. Some years later, after learning where the student attended
high school, an employer of the student, and much older, stated that
he has known the principal of that high school for some time. One day,
without reason, the EMPLOYER confesses to the same crime that prompted
the questioning by the principal's office years earlier. The employer
states that he committed the crime while in high school and in the
same year, sophomore, as when the questioning took place for the
student. Coincidence? A couple of years later, at a new job, which
happens to be in the same neighborhood as the old job, employees of
the new company confront the student with the charge that the student
had, in fact, committed the crime. While the student denied the
allegations, and explained the situation with the last employer, these
fellow employees continued to talk about the information to the owner
and to business associates over the following few years. The employees
harassed the student with innuendo and implications of continuous
criminal behavior. In the case that the high school?s records were
shared with an employer through ?buddy? channels, does this constitute
an invasion of privacy? Aren?t there juvenile laws protecting the
student? Does the student have a case against the school district if
the principal no longer works at the school? Do the actions of the
previous employer and the new employees constitute slander and/or
harassment?

Dear sally509-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. First, let me direct your attention to the disclaimer at the
bottom of this page and remind you that we cannot provide legal advice
in this forum. The best I can do under the circumstances is to point
out to you the published law that is available to the general public.

Let?s first examine the law in California where slander is concerned.
Slander is not a statutory crime as defined by the California Penal
Code. Instead it is a ?tort? or a ?civil wrong? for which one may sue
in civil court for punitive damages. You need not have the protection
afforded to juvenile privacy (since you are now an adult it probably
wouldn?t apply any longer anyway) because the slander statute applies
to all persons regardless of age. That issue is nether here nor there
when it comes to this matter because you clearly seem to have a valid
complaint without it. There are also statute of limitations issues but
I'll talk more about that in a moment:

CALIFORNIA STALKING AND HARASSMENT CODE
http://www.safetyed.org/help/stalking/caharass.html#H

?California Civil Code § 46 - Slander
Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, and
also communications by radio or any mechanical or other means which:

1. Charges any person with crime, or with having been indicted,
convicted, or punished for crime;
2. Imputes in him the present existence of an infectious, contagious,
or loathsome disease;
3. Tends directly to injure him in respect to his office, profession,
trade or business, either by imputing to him general disqualification
in those respects  which the office or other occupation peculiarly
requires, or by imputing something with reference to his office,
profession, trade, or business that has a natural tendency to lessen
its profits;
4. Imputes to him impotence or a want of chastity; or 
5. Which, by natural consequence, causes actual damage.?


In the state of California slander (California Civil Code § 46) is
rectified in civil court. The tort test for slander is a simple
five-part examination that you apply to your own circumstances to
determine of a case exists. This is the same test that a jury would
apply in considering a civil judgement:

1) Is there evidence that the defendant made a false oral or spoken
statement concerning the plaintiff? AND

2) Is there evidence that the statement was defamatory, i.e., that it
had the capability of harming the plaintiff's reputation if it were
believed? AND

3) Is there evidence that the defendant communicated that statement to
a person other than the plaintiff? AND

4) Is there evidence that the defendant knew the defamatory statement
was false, OR acted in reckless disregard as to whether the statement
were false or not? AND

5) Is there evidence that the plaintiff suffered actual harm of a
pecuniary nature, i.e., suffered a financial loss, as a result of the
defamatory statement being made and believed by a third person, OR if
there is no actual financial harm, does the slander take the form of
either a) Statements imputing morally culpable criminal behavior to
the plaintiff, or b) Statements alleging that the plaintiff currently
suffers from a venereal or another loathsome and communicable disease,
or c) Statements that suggest that the plaintiff is unfit to conduct
their business, trade, profession or office, or d) Statements imputing
either impotence or serious sexual misconduct to the plaintiff?

Having said that, you should read the statute and the test carefully
and see if it applies to your circumstances (as only you would know).

Do you have a valid complaint for which to obtain an injunction
against someone from harassing you? It certainly seems so, provided
that you have suffered substantial emotional distress:

California Code of Civil Procedure § 527.6 (2001)- Injunctions to
Prevent Harassment.
http://www.safetyed.org/help/stalking/castatute7.html

So, in short, according to California Civil Code § 46, if a person
publicly accuses you of criminal activity and besmirches your
reputation unnecessarily, it becomes his burden to prove his claim or
face the potential consequences of a civil court.

It is important to note, however, that the statute of limitations
where slander is concerned in California is one year. Only a Lawyer
can advise you how the Statute of Limitations might apply but as a
general rule, any slander or libel that might have occurred 12 months
prior to your complaint is no longer prosecutable in a court of law.
Because of that, anything that happened when you were a juvenile and
had any form of juvenile privacy protection has most likley expired by
now if its been more than a year.

CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE SECTION 335-349.4
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=ccp&group=00001-01000&file=335-349.4

Finally, where improprieties with the school records is concerned, you
would do well to contact your attorney or perhaps this state
government agency for information about how best to deal with that.
The statute oif limitations may very well have expired on the records
issues, but my guess is that an official complaint to this agency
about the potential criminal or civil conduct of a school (and or its
officials, past or present) with regard to privileged and protected
information of a (then) juvenile will probably generate a great deal
of interest:

OFFICE OF PRIVACY PROTECTION
Department of Consumer Affairs
400 R Street, Suite 3080
Sacramento, CA 95814

(866) 785-9663
(916) 323-0637

OFFICE OF PRIVACY PROTECTION
http://www.privacyprotection.ca.gov/

As I mentioned, we cannot provide you with legal advice. Please do
make an effort to consult a licensed state attorney about your
concerns. I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations.
If you have any questions about my research please post a
clarification request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome
your rating and your final comments and I look forward to working with
you again in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to
us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES

DRUG INTEL
http://www.drugintel.com/public/statute_of_limitations.htm

OFFICE OF PRIVACY PROTECTION
http://www.privacyprotection.ca.gov/

California Code of Civil Procedure § 527.6 (2001)- Injunctions to
Prevent Harassment.
http://www.safetyed.org/help/stalking/castatute7.html

CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE SECTION 335-349.4
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=ccp&group=00001-01000&file=335-349.4

CALIFORNIA STALKING AND HARASSMENT CODE
http://www.safetyed.org/help/stalking/caharass.html#H


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SEARCH TERMS USED:


California

Privacy

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Statute of limitations

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You should also consider California's laws of per se defamation, the
applicable statute of limitations (usually one year in California
defamation cases) and possible exceptions, as well as your rights
under laws which protect the confidentiality of your student records
including FERPA.