Miami Stalking Defense Lawyer

A detective may ask about a series of messages, or you may receive a court order after someone reports repeated contact. First, identify which papers you have. A criminal charge, a condition of release, and a civil stalking injunction may each require a different response.

If the complaint describes only part of a conversation, save the full thread. The messages before and after the one quoted may help explain why contact occurred or who initiated it. Keep any court order with the messages so counsel can compare its terms with the dates of the contact.

What to Do After a Complaint or Court Order

Read every order for its start date, restricted locations, and terms about direct or indirect contact. If it prohibits contact, do not reply to a message or ask a friend to deliver an explanation. If an order affects a child exchange, work, or a shared residence, get advice about how to comply and whether to ask the court for clarification.

A civil injunction for protection can proceed separately from a criminal case. Florida’s stalking injunction statute governs that civil petition. Bring both sets of papers to counsel so a hearing deadline or statement in one case can be addressed with the other in mind.

What the Full Record Can Show

Save the original thread with timestamps, participants, attachments, and the messages immediately before and after the exchange. Note shared accounts, changed usernames, or gaps. Preserve voicemail and call logs. Do not edit originals, delete a conversation, or log into someone else’s account to look for evidence.

A message about returning a key and repeated messages after the key was returned may have different explanations. A cropped screenshot can hide that change in purpose. We examine who sent what, how often, and how the timing fits any warnings or court orders.

Stalking and Aggravated Stalking in Florida

Under section 784.048, the State must prove willful, malicious, and repeated following, harassment, or cyberstalking. Harassment and cyberstalking have specific definitions, including substantial emotional distress and the absence of a legitimate purpose. Constitutionally protected activity is excluded from a course of conduct. The parties do not have to be related. If they are family or household members, the allegation may also raise domestic violence issues.

Aggravated stalking can involve a credible threat, a child under 16, a qualifying court order restricting conduct, or a specified post-sentence no-contact prohibition. The precise subsection matters. A credible threat is required for the threat-based charge. An order-based charge calls for the order itself and evidence of the accused’s knowledge and subsequent conduct.

When the State alleges a credible threat

For the threat-based charge, the statute addresses verbal and nonverbal threats, including a pattern of conduct. The threat must cause reasonable fear for safety and be made with the apparent ability to carry it out. The State need not show an intent to carry it out. Other aggravated-stalking provisions have different requirements.

Under the stalking statute, harassment involves conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose. Cyberstalking can include electronic communications to or about the person and unauthorized access or attempted access to online accounts or connected home systems. A course of conduct requires a series of acts showing continuity of purpose. A single rude message, standing alone, does not establish repeated stalking.

Charge Level and Penalties

Stalking under subsection (2) is a first-degree misdemeanor, ordinarily punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Aggravated stalking is a third-degree felony, ordinarily punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Those are maximums. Release restrictions can affect daily life while the charge is pending.

Testing the State’s Account of Repeated Contact

David Edelstein has extensive experience defending people charged with stalking in Florida. He began his criminal defense career over 30 years ago as a Miami-Dade assistant public defender.

We review the contacts in order. Who sent each message, who received it, and what was happening at the time? If the State relies on messages about a child exchange, the arrangements for that exchange may help explain why someone got in touch. Where substantial emotional distress is an element, we also examine the evidence the State offers to prove it.

If the allegation concerns violation of an injunction, we look at the order in effect on that date, how the accused learned of it, and what conduct it restricted. A later change to the order may not answer whether earlier conduct violated it.

Discuss a Stalking Allegation

Have any charging document, petition, temporary or final injunction, and release order available. Tell us when you received them and the date of the next hearing. Describe where the relevant communications are kept so we can discuss how to preserve them.

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