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Expungement, Defamation And False Light: Is What Happened Before What Really Happened Or Is There A Chance For A Second Act In America?, Doris Deltosto Brogan

Working Paper Series

Should an individual whose criminal record has been expunged have a cause of action for invasion of privacy, defamation or false light when a media outlet refuses to “unpublish” or correct the original report of her criminal charge? Outside of George Orwell’s world, can a fact that once existed be willed away by a court order, making the once-accurate report false, or “constructively false” and so give rise to a cause of action?

The impact of being swept into the vortex of the criminal justice system, even if as the result of only a minor charge, and even if that …