Relationships between people can take a turn and even become adversarial. The situation can escalate to the point that a criminal harassment complaint and/or arrest has occurred. The penalties imposed as a result of a harassment conviction can be significant and no one wants a criminal conviction on their record.
New Jersey’s Harassment law is set forth under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4. In this regard, a person is guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense of harassment if he:
a. Makes, or causes to be made, a communication or communications anonymously or at extremely inconvenient hours, or in offensively coarse language, or any other manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm;
b. Subjects another to striking, kicking, shoving, or other offensive touching, or threatens to do so; or
c. Engages in any other course of alarming conduct or of repeatedly committed acts with purpose to alarm or seriously annoy such other person.
Harassment becomes an indictable offense of the fourth degree if the harassment occurs while the defendant is on parole or probation for an indictable criminal offense.
When an individual is arrested or charged with harassment based on annoying or alarming conduct, the question that is invariably encountered is whether or not the conduct was just insensitive or actually prohibited harassment. This line can sometimes be grey and, as a result, New Jersey’s Courts have provided some helpful principals on the subject. The first principal to keep in mind is the fact that “intent” is a necessary element of New Jersey’s Harassment Statute; that is, it must be shown that accused made the communication or caused the communication to be made for the purpose of harassing the victim. See State v. Hoffman, 149 N.J. 564, 695 A.2d 236 (1997). It should also be kept in mind that New Jersey’s Courts have found that profanity alone will not constitute an intent to harass. Second, in order for a communication to be sufficiently annoying, it must “disturb, irritate, or bother” the victim to a consequential degree. See Cesare v. Cesare, 154 N.J. 394, 713 A.2d 390 (1998). New Jersey’s Courts have found that it is not the purpose of the statute to criminalize communications made in inoffensive language at convenient hours or in the communicator’s own name. Factors like gender, age and occupation of the person to whom the communication was directed, are relevant in determining whether a communication is severe enough to give rise to a valid harassment offense.
Contact Our New Jersey Harassment Attorneys Today
There are obviously many pitfalls to simple assault charges which make it advantageous to obtain representation from a skilled defense attorney. Our attorneys have firsthand personal experience and our both book smart and street smart. To discuss your case with a lawyer who is knowledgeable in this area and will answer all your questions, Call us
Our lawyers serve clients faced with a simple assault charge in the following Communities.
Hudson County Simple Assault Attorney
Bergen County Simple Assault Defense Lawyers
Ocean County Simple Assault Lawyers
Monmouth County Simple Assault Defense Attorneys
Middlesex County Simple Assault Lawyer
Union County Simple Assault Lawyers
Passaic County Simple Assault Defense Lawyers
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