Stalking Laws in New Jersey - 2C:12-10

If you have been accused of stalking another person, you need an experienced criminal defense laywer at your side. Jason A. Volet is an experienced criminal defense attorney who can build a strong defense for you. Contact the Law Office of Jason A. Volet at (732) 503-8968 or fill out the form on the right.

What is Stalking?

New Jersey Stalking Laws are found in New Jersey Statutes Title 2C:12-10. Stalking is defined as purposeful conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear bodily injury or death to himself or a family member and knowingly, recklessly, or negligently places a person in reasonable fear of bodily injury or death to himself or a family member.

How is Stalking Classified as a Crime?

Stalking in New Jersey is classified as a crime in the 4th-degree. If a court order prohibits the behavior and the person continues with the stalking, it is a crime in the 3rd-degree. A crime may also be in the 3rd-degree if a person continues to stalk while serving a term of imprisonment or on parole or probation.

A person who is a repeat offender may be hit with a 2nd-degree or 3rd-degree if the subsequent stalking is against the same victim.

Does a Stalking Conviction Act as a Restraining Order?

A stalking conviction acts as a permanent restraining order.

A restraining order after being convicted of stalking does not prohibit constitutionally protected activities like speech and picketing or reporting the victim’s wrongful behaviors to authorities. For example, if the victim engages in underage drinking, the accused may report the person to the police.

When dealing with a stalker, imprisonment and heavy fines may result in violence that was not there in the first place. Sometimes people do not know another does not want to be contacted when the victim does not respond to communications. The person may think that the communications are not received. Sometimes people do not realize they are stalking, and think they are just admiring another person, especially these days when people post their personal photos on Facebook and all over the Internet.

Seeing other people happy may make a person depressed and want to ruin another person’s happiness. Z.B.A.: Zen of Business Administration – How Zen Practice Can Transform Your Work And Your Life by Marc Lesser discusses Buddhism as a prescription to transform suffering to ease. In order to do this, a victim of a stalker needs to have an open heart in all situations. Sometimes people press to make another person suffer as vengeance for the hurt that can only be healed by making it a memory. Violence may occur when someone does not know how to carry out dreams, desires, and inner peace. Intentions affect energies.

Contact a New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

When accused of stalking, engage an experienced criminal defense attorney who can explain that stalking behavior can happen to anyone. To give an accused a second chance after being charged with stalking makes the world change by design rather than default. Contact the Law Office of Jason A. Volet at (732) 503-8968 or fill out the form on the right.

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