“Falsely Accused” of a Crime? How To Defend Yourself

Falsely accusing someone of a crime without evidence (sometimes called “false reporting“) can itself be a serious criminal offense. Nevertheless, false accusations are not uncommon, especially for such crimes as:

• rape,
• domestic violence,
• assault,
• battery, and
• arson.

There are many reasons why you may get falsely accused of a crime. Five of the most common are:

1. mistaken identity,
2. mis-recollection,
3. malicious false accusations,
4. police misconduct, and
5. misleading forensic evidence.

In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics re. false accusations:

• 1. What are false allegations?
• 2. Why would I get falsely accused?
• 3. Fighting False Accusations
• 4. Exoneration Statistics
• Additional Resources

1. What are false allegations?

False allegations are when you are accused of a crime that you did not commit. A wrongful conviction occurs when you are factually innocent but get convicted by the court system.¹

You may be wrongly accused of any type of crime, from theft or drugs to sex crimes or murder. One of the most commonly falsely accused crimes, though, is domestic violence.

Example: Nia learns that her husband is cheating on her. To get back at him, she calls 9-1-1 and tells the police that her husband tried to punch her. She even self-inflicts a wound to back up her story. The police then arrest the husband based on these false allegations and the injury.

2. Why would I get falsely accused?

Some false accusations are not based on malice. Witnesses can make honest mistakes, misremember events, and even misidentify innocent people.

Mistaken identity often occurs during police line-ups. This is because witnesses tend to pick someone in the line-up who looks most like their memory of the suspect even if the suspect is not actually in the lineup. This phenomenon is called the “best guess problem.”²

When accusers falsely accuse you on purpose, it is typically out of anger, revenge, or to gain the upper hand in a family law dispute (such as child custody). Even when accusers recant their allegations, prosecutors will still bring charges because they assume the accusers have ulterior motives for changing their story (such as being pressured by family).

There are many cases of the police themselves abusing their power by bringing false allegations against innocent people they have a beef with. Police misconduct can be extreme, such as planting the suspect’s DNA or hairs at the crime scene, or subtle, such as asking witnesses “leading questions” to cause them to create false memories.³

Example: Police are investigating Marcos for the crime of burglary. They ask a witness several questions like “what happened then?” and “anything further?” The police then ask, “when did you see Marcos enter the house,” when in fact the witness only saw the suspect on a patch of grass.

The first two questions are permissible open-ended questions. However, the final question is an impermissible leading question. It may cause false memories and confuse a witness. This, in turn, can result in a false accusation.

The police’s expert forensic witnesses can also lead to false accusations, especially when they exaggerate statistical claims to make their statements more impactful.

In short, false accusations have various causes. Your criminal defense attorney’s job is to find them and use them to persuade the D.A. to drop or lessen the charges.

3. Fighting False Accusations

There are five common ways to defend yourself against false accusations:

1. hire a criminal defense attorney,
2. conduct a pre-file investigation,
3. impeach the accuser,
4. file a civil suit for malicious prosecution, and/or
5. take a private polygraph.

These are discussed in detail below.

1) Hire a Defense Attorney

The most important thing to do if falsely accused of a crime is to remain silent and lawyer up.

Never believe you do not need a lawyer just because you know you are innocent of an offense. There is arguably even a greater need for a defense attorney in these situations because the case may involve:

• interactions with prosecutors to discuss errors in criminal charges,
• hostile accusers and witnesses,
• false or misleading evidence, and
• pleas of guilty to lesser offenses to avoid the risk of being found guilty at trial.

A criminal lawyer is the best person to advise you on your options.

2) Conduct a Pre-file Investigation

A “pre-file investigation” is when a defense lawyer investigates allegations of a crime before criminal charges get filed. The goal of these investigations is to gather evidence that is favorable to you.

During a pre-file investigation, a defense attorney may:

• interview witnesses that the police have met with,
• find new witnesses to question about the false claims,
• gather physical evidence,
• search background records,
• collect information on an accuser to cast doubts on their credibility, and
• consult with expert witnesses.

Once the investigation is complete, your attorney can then go to the District Attorney and try to persuade them to:

1. not file any charges or
2. file charges of a lesser crime.

Examples of a lesser crime might be disturbing the peace as opposed to domestic violence.

3) Impeach the Accuser

To “impeach an accuser” means to present evidence or questions that undermine the accuser’s credibility.

This typically occurs at trial during cross-examination. A defense lawyer will ask witnesses if they know of facts that reflect poorly on the accuser’s reputation or truthfulness.

Impeaching may also involve presenting some type of evidence – such as past text messages or voicemails – that shows the accuser is not truthful or knowledgeable on a topic.

4) File a Civil Suit for Malicious Prosecution

When a person initiates a frivolous legal proceeding against you such as filing a false police report, you can sue them for malicious prosecution. If you win the lawsuit, the accuser may be on the hook to pay you compensatory damages, such as:

• economic damages (like attorney fees and medical costs) and
• non-economic damages (like loss of reputation and embarrassment).

You may be able to bring a defamation case against the accuser as well.

5) Take a Private Polygraph

Taking and passing a private polygraph test cannot hurt and could only help you if you are falsely accused.

The defense attorney can show the passing results to the prosecutors, who may then be swayed to dismiss your charges or offer to do another polygraph at the prosecutor’s office. If you pass again, the prosecutors may decide they have too weak of a case to continue prosecuting.

Note that the results of private polygraph tests remain confidential unless you choose to share them. If you fail the test, the authorities never have to know.

Learn more about California polygraph law.

4. Exoneration Statistics

False accusations and wrongful convictions plague the criminal justice system. Since 1989 through early May 2025 in the U.S., the National Registry of Exonerations has recorded 3,675 exonerations based on new evidence that the defendant was actually innocent.

The year 2024 alone saw 147 exonerations recorded by the National Registry of Exonerations. These cases highlight various systemic failures with several contributing factors standing out:

• Official misconduct played a role in approximately 104 exonerations (71%).
• Perjury or false accusations contributed to roughly 106 exonerations (72%).  
• Approximately 38 exonerations (26%) involved mistaken eyewitness identifications.
• False confessions were a factor in about 22 exonerations (15%).
• DNA evidence was central to 3 exonerations in 2024.⁴

Additional Resources

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• The Harmful Effects of Expansive Immunity Protections for Child Abuse Reporters and the Lack of Justice for Those Who Are Abuse Reporters and the Lack of Justice for Those Who Are Falsely Accused Falsely Accused – Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice.
• Prior False Allegations of Rape: Falsus in Uno, Falsus in Omnibus – Yale Journal of Law and Feminism.
• Ridicule or Recourse: Parents Falsely Accused of Past Sexual Abuse Fight Back – Journal of Law and Health.
• Innocent until Proven Guilty: Shallow Words for the Falsely Accused in a Criminal Prosecution for Child Sexual Abuse – University of Bridgeport Law Review.
• The Other Victim: The Falsely Accused Parent in a Sexual Abuse Custody Case – Journal of Family Law.

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