What Happens After a Harassment Charge

If you, a friend or a loved one is charged with a harassment charge in the state of New York, you may find yourself wondering what that charge means, what the process from charging to trial may involve, and what your potential penalties may be. There will be many decisions to make through the course of mounting a defense against aggravated harassment charges, and one of the first steps to go to nassau county criminal lawyer and making an educated choice is to understand the types of harassment under the law and what the impact of a charge or conviction could be.

What are the Harassment Charges?

Under New York law, there are traditional harassment crimes, aggravated harassment charges, and charges for harassment by inmates against corrections employees. Some of these charges have some overlap with assault statutes, and it is not uncommon for a person to be charged with both assault and harassment. However, harassment laws have some varied applications.

If you have researched most charges in the state, you will have found that these criminal charges are tiered according to their severity, and each increase in tier equals a more serious potential penalty. Harassment charges are likewise tiered, and while the lowest tier is considered a violation, others are misdemeanors and the most serious are that carry the potential for up to four years’ imprisonment.

Harassment in the Second Degree

A person may be charged with Second Degree Harassment for a number of offenses. Ultimately, the person must have the intent to harass, alarm or annoy another person. They can do so by shoving, striking, kicking or makes physical contact with the victim or threatening to do so. A person may be charged for following the victim in or around public places or even a single public place. Repeated acts, criminal or otherwise, can also qualify under this charge, if the acts serve no legitimate purpose and alarm and/or seriously annoy the victim.

Second Degree Harassment is considered a violation of New York law and could potentially lead to a fine, but not jail time on the first offense.

Harassment in the First Degree

First Degree Harassment is a more serious harassment charge and carries more serious penalties. While Second Degree Harassment includes annoying, harassing or alarming the victim, First Degree Harassment involves placing a person in reasonable fear of physical injury. These harassing acts must be intentional and repeated and may include following a person in a public place, repeatedly committing acts, or engaging in a specific course of conduct. nassau county criminal lawyer

This class B misdemeanor carries a possible penalty of up to three months behind bars. There are exceptions, however, if the allegedly harassing activities are regulated by the national labor relations, federal employment labor management, or railway labor acts.