QUESTION:

I'm a very private person -- I choose to live alone, and I had a rough childhood, so there's a lot that I'd rather not talk about. Unfortunately I work in an office where everyone seems to nose into each other's business, share any juicy tidbits with others, and go around dispensing unwanted advice. Just in case I need to protect myself, can you tell me the legal meaning of "invasion of privacy?"

ANSWER:

Invasion of privacy wasn't "invented" as a legal concept until the 20th Century. The human urge to nose into other people's business is hardly new -- but it took the wife of a famous judge to turn it into a legal issue. It seems that the judge's wife was upset because a journalist had been snooping at a private party. When the judge's wife complained, he told her there were no laws against snooping. Later, after thinking about it, the judge wrote an article on the "right to privacy" and from that developed a series of rules.

The right to privacy refers to your right to be left alone. There are several different ways a person's right to privacy can be invaded. (You did ask for a definition, not a how-to manual, right?) The most common privacy invasions recognized by law are as follows:

False Light: This type of invasion of privacy occurs when an individual is falsely portrayed in a highly offensive manner -- for example, the photograph of a man who has never committed a crime is posted at the "America's Most Wanted" website.

Disclosure of Private Facts: This type of invasion occurs when private or embarrassing facts are revealed about an individual without relation to a legitimate public concern. For example, let's say that a man who had served time for a robbery 20 years earlier rehabilitated himself and was now a pastor. Publication of the facts of the 20-year old robbery would be an invasion of privacy unless there was a related public interest -- for example, the pastor was again arrested for a crime.

Intrusion: This is where someone intrudes upon a person in a situation in which that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy -- for example, by spying on the person at home, secretly eavesdropping on their conversations or opening their mail.

Every state has its own set of rules for invasion of privacy. You may have to do some further research to determine if a specific act constitutes an invasion of privacy in your state. (The legal research section of Nolo's website can take you to your state's laws.) If your privacy has been invaded, you may be able to sue in a state court for damages -- and in some situations, have the perpetrator criminally prosecuted as well.