Expectation of Privacy in My Home

What expectation of privacy do I have while in my home?  I have a serious problem with the lady that lives directly across the street from me.  Will try to make this short but it is hard to do.  

She was taking multiple perscription drugs and drinking at the same time.  She found out her ex-husband had a girl friend.  She broke into his house - broke a window and crawled through.  She trashed his bedroom.  She then went to his place of work (he works for the State) and waited for him in the workplace parking lot.  She got into his truck and assaulted him.  In the process she got a small bruise. 

She was coming over constantly and told me all of this.  She called his bosses and told them he assaulted her in their parking lot.  She told me she wanted to sue the State.  She went to her physician and showed him her bruise - said he assaulted her.  She went to the police department and filed a complaint but refused to give his name.  She got a copy of the report.  Her ex passed her on the highway after that and waved at her.  She told all of the neighbors that he was stalking her.  They believed her.

Her son has an old car that he loves.  The car was parked in their driveway.  They did  not have the emergency brake on.  It rolled into my house and landed between my front door and my infant grandson's room.  I called the police.  &nb... had to pay a $400 deductible to fix the damage.  I distanced myself from her.

This has really escalated.  She is paranoid when I am in my kitchen because two big windows face her house.  I also have a big window in baby's room that faces her house.  I have a screen door in my living room that I often use to capture the cool weather that faces her house.  My windows also all face her garage where she parks all of the cars  She was working a few blocks away at an elementary school as a cross guard and walked to work.  She got paranoid if drove my car by the school.  She got paranoid if I saw her walking to work from my house. 

She has brought the man into this that lives next door to me.   She told him I was stalking her. She told all the neighbors I was stalking her.   He bought it.  She took a picture of me in the baby's room though my window.  She did the same thing when I was in my living room. I guess she thought it would be evidence of stalking or harassment.

The guy next door has money. Someone hired PI's.  They gas lighted me twice.  On two different Saturday's they had several cars "U" turning in front of my screen door.  This went on for hours. 

I have talked to the police after one of the gas lighting incidents.  I was really upset.  I do not think they believed me because I was so rattled.  The last "gas lighting" incident happened last Saturday.  I took a few pictures and 6 minutes of video of this happening for proof.

I know all of this sounds ridiculous but it is true.  It is a nightmare.  This is my home.  I have windows in my home.  I feel like I can't live in my own house.  What are my rights?  What options do I have? 

fritz43:

They gas lighted me twice.

Haven't seen anybody use that phrase in a long time (except me). I don't think most people these days would know what it means (unless they catch the movie on late night TV).

fritz43:

What options do I have?

Well, you've already got a police report on record.

I'd follow up with a restraining order.

And if that didn't work, think about a private nuisance lawsuit (google it).

Unfortunately, when you have a lunatic living across the street, it's a no-win thing. I lived in one house for 11 years with one lunatic next door and another across the street. Finally accepted that they would outlive and outlast me so I moved and never looked back.

There is no police report.  I did not want the neighbors to see the police car so I went to the station.  I found out that there was no report.  The record clerk said that if I had called there would have been a report.

Thanks.  I will google that.  Can people actually take pictures from the street of a person while they are in their house?  I presume it is OK for me take video when this happens again?  How can I find out what the PI's can and cannot do?  I want to know when they cross the line.

fritz43:

There is no police report. I did not want the neighbors to see the police car so I went to the station. I found out that there was no report. The record clerk said that if I had called there would have been a report.

How about police reports about the violence to her ex? That should give you enough support for a restraining order even though you don't really need any to get one.

fritz43:

Can people actually take pictures from the street of a person while they are in their house?

Yes.

If you leave your blinds or curtains open where they can see in, there's no difference between looking and taking pictures.

fritz43:

I presume it is OK for me take video when this happens again?

Yes.

You are free to video anything that's going on that you can see.

fritz43:

How can I find out what the PI's can and cannot do? I want to know when they cross the line.

They can do a lot of things as long as they don't come on to your property. That means they can drive up and down your street and park in front of your house, sitting in their cars for hours at a time. (I was a PI years ago and did just that.)

Nothing stopping you from reporting a suspicious vehicle to the police. I've had people call in suspicious vehicle reports. It blows the PI's cover when the police car rolls up behind them with the light flashing, but otherwise it's no big deal to the PI.

If you are interested, you can look up your state's PI licensing laws for prohibited practices:

http://www.bsis.ca.gov/

You gave me good information.  I did the google.  I see what she is up to.  She wants to claim that I have her under surveillance (my open windows).  They baited me with the last gas lighting incident.  They were not being at all covert.  She is trying for the private nuisance lawsuit.  They baited me and I reacted.  Now I know better.

As for the "gas lighting" term - I read about it somewhere.  I was a key witness in a local case and the other side had me under surveillance.  I read up.  My attorney had me document (time and date) what they were doing.  And they sure do a lot of things they should not do.  Case was dropped due to intimidation and tampering with a witness. 

Keep documenting whatever you can. If you take out a restraining order or order of protection and she violates it, the police take more of an interest and she can be prosecuted for it.

"Gaslight" is a wonderful, suspense filled, 1944 movie with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman.

• Why does the flame go down? Lights in the London house are from fixtures with gas flames, and when you light one light, it reduces gas supply to the other lights in the house that are close by, and the light dims. But no one in the house has lit any other lights! And there are also footsteps overhead, from a nailed closed attic. Neither of the two servant ladies sees or hears either of these signs. Paula Anton (Ingrid Bergman) thinks she is losing her mind, just as she has lost the broach her husband Gregory (Charles Boyer) gave her. Her new marriage is falling apart; she cannot go out lest she make another embarrassing scene. Is it the house? The house where her aunt, a famous and beautiful concert singer, had been murdered when the young Paula was actually in the house. What does her new husband, who plays the piano beautifully, do for a living? Nothing. Why does he go out every night and leave her alone, alone to fret and worry? Who is the man who sees them at unexpected times and places, a man we the audience soon learn is Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotton), a Scotland Yard detective. He is curious about the unsolved murder of Alice Alquist, the aunt who looked a great deal like the beautiful Paula does now; it was a murder that defied the investigators. No motive, no suspects. No clues. You now have the clues to this Oscar winning (Best Actress) dark mystery. Introducing (first picture) Angela Lansbury (Best Supporting Actress nominee) in the role of one of the servants. Also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Boyer), and three more.

http://www.imdb.com/ti...

"Gaslighting" has since become a metaphor for the process of making a person believe that he or she is crazy.

Rent it.

Or watch it on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com...

It will either take your mind off of what your neighbor is doing or it will make you wonder why your lights are flickering.

"gas lighting"?? If you mean what I think you mean I do not see how simply turning around in your driveway is an issue.

As long as she is not respassing on your property I do not see that there's anything for you to do - except close the blinds.

Adjuster Jack - Thanks.  Your responses have been very helpful.  She probably is not doing anything illegal now.   I am sure she has gotten an attorney. She was turning a vulgar rap song on full blast in her car which used profanity every time I went outside. I am sure her attorney advised her to stop which she has.   I believe she is using the attorney  that had to drop his multi-million dollar suit because of his PI's imtimidation/tampering with a witness (me) which happened several years ago.  She knew about that.  She is trying for a nuisance law suit against me because I can see her coming and going from my house.  That is why the PI's are involved.  They want me to retaliate.

Also, I went to the PI website and tried to search "prohibitive practices" and got nothing.  I will try googling it.

I will try to get the movie.  Sounds fascinating.

Lynn, she was not turning around in my driveway.  Several PI's were turning around in the street right in front of my open front door.  It was continuous and went on for hours - all morning. It was a tactic to upset me and it worked.  This was done on two separate Saturdays.  If it happens again I am going to video tape it.  Now I get it and that really helps me to deal with it. Just knowing has a calming effect on me.

fritz43:

Also, I went to the PI website and tried to search "prohibitive practices" and got nothing. I will try googling it.

You have to read the statutes (Division 3, Business and Professions Code Chapter 11.3.  Private Investigator)

http://www.bsis.ca.gov...

Article 6 Disciplinary Proceedings can probably tell you what a PI can be disciplined for.