Legal information about this site
I have researched the issue of other persons' privacy, as well as issues of libel and slander, very carefully before publishing these pages. I am exercising my first amendment right to free speech. As this site is entirely from my point of view, it is classified as opinion and not fact; therefore, it is not defamatory. Also, as I only provide first names and the fact that the church is near where I live, I am not endangering anyone's privacy nor harming their reputation.
From the Electronic Freedom Foundation's (EFF) Blogger's FAQ on Online Defamation:
Can my opinion be defamatory?
No - but merely labeling a statement as your "opinion" does not make it so. Courts look at whether a reasonable reader or listener could understand the statement as asserting a statement of verifiable fact. (A verifiable fact is one capable of being proven true or false.) This is determined in light of the context of the statement. A few courts have said that statements made in the context of an Internet bulletin board or chat room are highly likely to be opinions or hyperbole, but they do look at the remark in context to see if it's likely to be seen as a true, even if controversial, opinion ("I really hate George Lucas' new movie") rather than an assertion of fact dressed up as an opinion ("It's my opinion that Trinity is the hacker who broke into the IRS database").
Do blogs have the same constitutional protections as mainstream media?
Yes. The US Supreme Court has said that "in the context of defamation law, the rights of the institutional media are no greater and no less than those enjoyed by other individuals and organizations engaged in the same activities."
What's the statute of limitation on libel?
Most states have a statute of limitations on libel claims, after which point the plaintiff cannot sue over the statement. For example, in California, the one-year statute of limitations starts when the statement is first published to the public. In certain circumstances, such as when the defendant cannot be identified, a plaintiff can have more time to file a claim. Most courts have rejected claims that publishing online amounts to "continuous" publication, and start the statute of limitations ticking when the claimed defamation was first published.
This page has been up since 2003 in some form, although previously under a different domain name. In Indiana, the statute of limitation is 2 years (source), meaning it has already passed.Warning:
I am not accepting e-mail, phone calls, letters, or any other forms of contact from any members of the church I am writing about or their friends and family. I can and will trace your IP address. Any such contacts will be forwarded immediately to my lawyer and will be considered harassment, as the church was asked in 2003 in written format to stop contacting me. Charges will be pressed and restraining orders obtained.
"In the end, only an individual can judge whether they personally experienced an abusive, cultic relationship. One person's nightmare may correspond to another's 'uplifting experience.'"