Vanessa Hudgens is mad and taking action regarding the unauthorized release of some old nude photographs taken of her years back. Seems that someone has sent out photos of Vanessa Hudgens sans clothing without her okay and now, several websites have posted the photos on their websites.
What Vanessa Hudgens Has Done About This So Far: State and Federal Criminal Investigations
Vanessa Hudgens obviously believes she has been, and continues to be, harmed by this. She's gone to local police.
Today, there are news reports that Vanessa Hudgens is also talking with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the leaked nude pix.
Which means that Vanessa Hudgens has opened the door to both state and federal criminal laws and statutes applying to her situation. Law enforcement authorities for both the state where the crime allegedly occured (presumably California according to the news reports) as well as for the federal government will be actively involved in determining what has happened here.
If state or federal laws have been violated, then the person believed to have violated these laws will be arrested, charged, and if convicted, forced to pay monetary fines and/or serve jail time.
None of which provides justice to Vanessa Hudgens for the harm that she may have experienced because of these bad acts.
What Vanessa Hudgens Can Do In the Future: Personal Injury Civil Suit.
Crime victims often suffer severe personal injury as a result of the criminal acts committed against them. Sometimes these are physical injuries. Sometimes they are emotional ones. In many cases, they are economic harms.
Here, Vanessa Hudgens may argue that she has been detrimentally impacted by the release of these photos in a permanent way insofar as her professional career.
With her background as a Disney star, release of compromising nude photos may be argued to have injured her career-wise. The criminal investigations and prosecutions will do nothing to rectify that injustice.
Personal injury lawsuits, based on any number of torts, are often filed by victims of crime in order to obtain personal justice for the sufferings the victims have indured. Civil cases can proceed at the same time as criminal cases do, and in civil cases the burden of proof will be lessen stringent than the prosecutor will have to meet.
Personal injury evidence must prove the plaintiff's case by a "preponderance of the evidence" standard, which basically means "more likely than not." It is more likely than not that the defendant's actions harmed the plaintiff in the amount of X dollars.
In criminal matters, the state attorney must meet the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard: it is an almost certainty that the defendant committed the crime.
It is only through the personal injury civil lawsuit that a victim of wrongdoing can obtain monetary justice for the real damage that they have suffered at the hands of the wrongdoer, where the courts can and will force that wrongdoer to pay money to the victim to repair, at least in part, the harm that they have caused.
Whether or not Vanessa Hudgens, the star of Disney's High School Musical series, sues for personal injuries remains to be seen. Legally, it's an avenue open to her and her legal counsel to consider and pursue in the coming months.
By on March 17, 2011 12:15 PM
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