Anne Arundel County Stalking Lawyer
Stalking in Anne Arundel County is usually harassment of another person without their consent. Stalking could be repeatedly calling somebody. It could be following somebody or appearing at places where they are in a manner that is designed to annoy them, scare them, or bother them in some way. There are many examples of stalking and there is no one enumerated criteria that defines stalking. These charges can be difficult to untangle, and it is helpful to have the assistance of a local Anne Arundel County stalking lawyer who knows how these charges are handled and how to defend against them.
Differences Between Harassment and Stalking
Harassment and stalking really do not have a tremendous amount of difference between them because stalking is a form of harassment. But, there are many forms of harassment, which could include harassment by electronic mail or by telephone. Stalking is just one form of harassment.
Harassment is any repeated conduct that is committed by one party against another. It is usually something that has happened on more than one occasion that is usually something where the other party has told that person to stop and they have not complied with that individual’s requests.
Common Offenses Related to Stalking
Stalking might also come with harassment if there was email used. There is a particular electronic mail misuse or harassment charge. If there was a telephone used, there might be a telephone misuse charge. If there was a protective order that was in place, for example from prior interaction in court, there might be a violation of the protective order. It really depends on the particular circumstances of the case.
Potential for Misunderstandings
Misunderstandings usually will not lead to stalking charges in Anne Arundel County. Stalking usually involves repeated conduct of some kind and there has to be an intent on the part of the accused individual to actually stalk the other party.
For example, if somebody was showing up at another person’s place of work because they have their own business there and not because they were there to see that other individual, and ran into them by accident, that would not be considered stalking. The intent was not strong for that action. The government has to prove vicious will in order to actually move forward with the stalking determination.
Protective Orders
An order of protection is something that is issued by the court that tells a person that a petitioner has sought relief and asked the court to intervene because they believe that they are in danger, in fear, or being harassed or stalked by another party and the court has found, based on a very low standard of preponderance of the evidence, that information exists requiring this individual to be protected. Eventually the defendant is instructed to not have contact and they are given specific instructions on what kind of contact is permitted or what kind of conduct is not permitted. If a person violates that order of the court, they can be subject to penalties including imprisonment.
Benefits of an Anne Arundel County Stalking Lawyer
There are many important benefits to working with a local Anne Arundel County lawyer for a stalking charge. Usually stalking charges are brought by a person that is known to the person accused and the two usually had a relationship of some kind before the stalking charges came about.
These kinds of cases are common in many domestic violence situations. An Anne Arundel County stalking attorney will be able to conduct an investigation, not only into the evidence in the particular case, but also as to the prior relationship between the parties. This investigation may reveal whether there is a bias or other issues that have come about that could assist the court in understanding the relationship between parties and why one might have had a motive to fabricate charges against the individual accused. If a person might have such a motive, then they may not be appropriate to rely upon in the allegations that they brought against particular person.