Miami Harassment Defense Attorney

Lawyer for Charges of Harassment in Miami, FL

There are a wide variety of situations where people may be accused of harassment. In some cases, these accusations may be legitimate due to a person's concerning behavior or threatening communications. However, accusations may also arise in situations involving relationship conflicts, workplace disputes, neighborhood disagreements, or misunderstandings. When criminal charges of harassment are based on false allegations, exaggerated claims, or misinterpreted actions, they can result in serious consequences.

People who have been accused of harassment will need to determine the best steps to take to defend against criminal charges. At Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney, our legal team can provide representation for those who are facing charges related to harassment. These situations can be emotionally charged, and different parties may have different interpretations of events. Our lawyer will investigate the circumstances surrounding accusations, challenge questionable evidence, and present defenses that protect our clients' rights and reputations.

Harassment Offenses in Florida

Florida law addresses harassing behavior primarily through statutes that address the offense of stalking. Under Florida Statutes § 784.048, a person may be charged with stalking if they willfully harass someone in a repeated manner and with malicious intent to cause distress. Harassment may include conduct that causes substantial emotional distress without serving any legitimate purpose.

The requirement of repeated conduct is an important factor in cases involving harassment or stalking. A single instance of unwanted contact does not constitute stalking or harassment under Florida law. To be charged with a crime, a person must have engaged in a pattern of behavior over a period of time.

Whether a person's actions were threatening is another important element in harassment cases. A person could be charged with aggravated stalking if they engage in repeated harassment that involves credible threats that cause a person to fear for their safety. A credible threat could be verbal or nonverbal, and it could include messages sent through electronic communications, such as text messages, emails, or interactions on social media.

Situations That Could Lead to Harassment Charges

Harassment and stalking charges may involve a wide variety of circumstances. The end of a domestic relationship could lead to stalking accusations if one party has allegedly continued to contact the other despite being told to stop. Repeated phone calls, text messages, emails, or social media messages attempting to reconcile the relationship or expressing anger about the breakup could be considered harassment.

Dating situations where one party misinterprets the other's interest or refuses to accept rejection can result in harassment charges. Persistent attempts to initiate contact after being told the other person is not interested, showing up at places where the other person is present, or sending numerous messages expressing romantic feelings after clear requests to stop may constitute stalking. These situations may involve genuine misunderstandings about social cues or different perceptions about whether contact is welcome, but they can still result in criminal charges.

Workplace disputes may sometimes result in harassment. If an employee sends numerous emails or messages to a supervisor after being disciplined or terminated, or a coworker repeatedly contacts another employee after being asked to stop, the authorities may be contacted, and criminal complaints may be made. The distinction between workplace communication and criminal harassment can sometimes be unclear.

Neighborhood conflicts can escalate to harassment charges in some cases. Disputes over property boundaries, noise complaints, or parking issues can lead to confrontations, and one party may accuse the other of harassing behavior. Patterns of behavior that were allegedly intended to annoy or intimidate neighbors may result in harassment charges.

Interactions on social media or other online forums or communities have become common sources of harassment accusations. Repeated comments meant to annoy or intimidate someone, unwanted direct messages, fake accounts used to contact someone who has blocked the sender, posts that disparage or threaten someone, or the disclosure of personal information could lead to cyberstalking charges.

Criminal Penalties for Harassment Convictions

The penalties for harassment-related offenses in Florida vary depending on the specific charges and circumstances. Stalking is generally classified as a first-degree misdemeanor, and the penalties may include a sentence of up to one year in county jail, as well as fines as high as $1,000. While a misdemeanor conviction is less severe than a felony, it will still create a criminal record that can affect a person's employment, professional license, and personal relationships.

Aggravated stalking involving allegations that a person has engaged in behavior that presented a credible threat can lead to third-degree felony charges. This offense carries a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a maximum fine of $5,000. The elevation to felony status will significantly increase the potential consequences, and a conviction will have a lasting impact on a person's civil rights, employment opportunities, and other aspects of their life.

Beyond the direct criminal penalties, harassment accusations can result in protective orders that will restrict a person from contacting the alleged victims, require them to stay away from certain locations, and impose other restrictions on their behavior. Violations of these orders can lead to additional criminal charges.

Defending Against Harassment Accusations

Our lawyer can use multiple types of defense strategies to challenge harassment charges. Constitutional protections apply to speech, and this can be an important consideration in many cases. The First Amendment protects many forms of communication, and prosecutors must prove that the defendant's conduct crossed the line from protected speech into criminal harassment. Our attorney will present arguments demonstrating that our client's communications involved legitimate attempts to resolve disputes and did not meet the statutory definition of harassment.

A lack of intent to cause emotional distress may serve as a defense when evidence shows that the defendant's actions were not malicious and were not intended to harass. The requirement that harassment serve no legitimate purpose means that communications made for valid reasons, such as attempting to resolve business disputes, exercise parental rights, or engage in other legitimate activities, may not constitute criminal harassment even if the recipient found them unwelcome.

Challenging the credibility of the accuser may be an effective strategy in many harassment cases. False allegations can occur during custody disputes, contentious divorces, or situations where someone has a motive to fabricate claims of harassment. Our attorney can look at the timing of accusations, examine whether a person made similar false claims in the past, and present evidence showing that allegations had ulterior motives. Inconsistencies in a person's statements or evidence that the accuser was the one who initiated contact can undermine the prosecution's case.

Our lawyer may also dispute that contact was repeated or constituted a course of conduct. If our client's contact with the alleged victim was isolated rather than part of a pattern, or if significant time passed between incidents, the charges may not be supported by the evidence. We can present timelines showing the actual frequency and nature of contact, demonstrating that charges were based on legitimate communications rather than actions that might be characterized as harassment.

Contact Our Miami, Florida Harassment Lawyer

Harassment charges can threaten your freedom, your reputation, and your ability to move forward with your life. These accusations can damage your personal and professional relationships, affect your employment, and subject you to restraining orders that could restrict your activities and movements. You need an attorney who will challenge these allegations and fight to protect your rights.

At Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney, we understand the nuances of these cases and the steps that can be taken to challenge questionable accusations. When you reach out to us, we can take steps to preserve evidence, interview witnesses while memories are fresh, and begin building your defense immediately. Contact our Miami harassment charges attorney at 305-615-1285 to set up a free consultation.