Stalking in Las Vegas is no small matter. It is a distressingly common case, fueled by the city’s sizable population and vibrant nightlife. Whether it is related to private individuals, marital issues, local business and staff, or famous personalities, stalking has the tendency to have severe negative effects on both the plaintiff and the defendant. In some cases it can even be worse on the defendant whether they are guilty or not; having the reputation of a stalker throws a shade on the person’s background and can adversely affect his life far into the future.
Facing a stalking charge in Las Vegas can be a harrowing experience for a first-time defendant. Fortunately, domestic violence attorneys handle stalking charges on the regular, and know some of the appropriate methods to avoid a conviction. Let’s review methods of defending yourself against a stalking charge in Las Vegas.
Part of The Job
Celebrity stalkers are fairly common fodder for entertainment gossip segments on television or online. People are familiar with the paparazzi horror stories: invasive photographers going as far as scaling high walls, using high-end telephoto lenses, or going on high-speed pursuits just to get a tabloid-worthy shot. Unfortunately, it can be easy to generalize these kinds of acts when they’re talked about so often. Many news photographers take quite the beating due to stalking and harassment claims, even if some of them are just earnestly doing their jobs. This plea is one of the more commonly-used defense claims in cases involving popular individuals, but take note: it only works if the defendant can prove that they were acting well within the limits of their legal employ. If the prosecution can prove that the defendant overstepped their boundaries, this defense can be turned against them.
Mistaken Identity
In a sea of faces, one can just be spotted in the wrong place at the wrong time and find themselves facing possible prison time and high fees. This is usually the case when someone is accused of stalking, especially in busy urban centers; a paranoid individual can just point you out in public and mistakenly call you out as a stalker. You can claim back that you were only mistaken for a stalker, and you being in the situation at the time can be considered pure coincidence. For example, you regularly take the same route as the plaintiff as part of your work routine. If they are legitimately being stalked, you can claim that you and the stalker just happen to be taking the same route as well.
This defense is equally usable in cyberstalking cases due to the uncertainty of identifying online personas. In addition, your profile may match the stalker’s persona by pure luck, which can falsely put you under hot water.
First Amendment Right
Someone can also be charged with stalking if the plaintiff believes they are being harassed verbally or in writing. Maybe it’s a series of comments made in person, or a few public criticisms on the plaintiff’s online profile. Whatever the case, an innocent post can be misconstrued as a malevolent attempt to harass a person and bring them down. A defendant can often claim that the comment was made with their right to free speech in mind. The First Amendment claim is often cited in stalking cases that involve messages or statements made in public, or towards a public individual with a prominent profile.
No Intention to Distress or Harass
Most cases of stalking come about because of miscommunication. A simple set of messages checking on a person’s health or what they’ve been doing for the day may be mistaken as intrusive and overly familiar, leading to charges of harassment and stalking. In such cases, the defendant must prove that their messages, statements, or acts had no intention of distressing or harassing the plaintiff, and that they were done in good faith. A variation would be a claim that no sensible individual would find the alleged acts or messages to be distressing or worthy of a stalking charge. The defendant can claim that the plaintiff was merely overreacting to entirely innocent acts, and any other person would not have found these acts intrusive.
Act of Spite
Sometimes there really isn’t any stalking or harassment involved. In such cases, the plaintiff may simply have disagreements with the defendant, or are seeking to deface the defendant’s reputation. In such cases, they would stage supposed incidents and frame them as acts of stalking on the defendant’s part.
In such situations, the defendant can claim that the charge was made against him or her as an act of spite on the part of the plaintiff. He or she can claim that the plaintiff is merely resentful of the defendant for certain reasons, and are using the stalking charge to ruin them. This defense works best if the plaintiff is a competitor, or someone who is against the defendant’s principles. It is also sometimes invoked in marital cases when one spouse accuses another.
These are just some of the commonly-invoked defenses against stalking charges in Las Vegas. Other defenses may apply for unique stalking conditions, and in many cases attempting to use any of the above claims may put you in an even more difficult legal situation. Always discuss your situation with your domestic violence lawyer in order to make informed decisions for your case.