Charlotte Stalking Lawyer

Being accused of harassment or stalking charges can be a terrifying experience. Charges could include anything from a misdemeanor to a felony that could result in jail time, fines, and losing some of your rights as an American. If you are being served with stalking or harassment charges, consider working with a Charlotte stalking lawyer to understand your options. A defense attorney can help create an effective strategy to help with your case.

Protect Your Interests

At The Law Office of Kevin L. Barnett, we have been practicing criminal defense law in Charlotte for over two decades. We have helped fight charges against fraud, battery, and many other criminal charges, and we have successfully represented clients in both local and state courts. Let our legal experience work for you and your case.

What Is the Legal Definition of Stalking?

According to the law in Charlotte, harassment and stalking are two separate things. Harassment is defined as any form of contact, including digital, written, and personal interactions, that unnecessarily generates fear in the recipient. If this behavior is done repeatedly enough for a person to feel threatened or scared for themselves or their friends’ and family’s well-being, it is considered stalking.

Why Do I Need an Attorney?

Just because you know you’re innocent doesn’t mean the court does. A conviction could mean large fines and potential jail time. Working with an attorney can help you develop a plan to make an effective case. They can help you gather evidence to help disprove faulty claims and support you during court to make good decisions if your case makes it to trial. An attorney in Charlotte, NC can also help you if these accusations are made during a divorce.

What Actions Are Considered Stalking?

Sometimes, actions can blur the line between unwanted contact and stalking. Here are some common behaviors that are typically considered stalking:

• Spying or following. Unwanted contact can still apply even if a victim is not being explicitly addressed. Behaviors like stalking or following a victim can still impact their perception of their health and well-being.
• Excessive contact. Sometimes limited contact is fine, but oftentimes a stalker will repeatedly contact a victim via phone call or text message, even after they have told them to stop the behavior. This action can be made even worse if the individual makes direct threats against the victim in these messages.
• Visiting a victim’s popular locations. Even if the victim is not there, if a person knowingly goes into a victim’s place of work or residence to find out more information on their whereabouts, this behavior can be considered stalking. This also applies to excessive drive-bys around a victim’s location or places they frequently visit.
• Family members. Excessive contact also applies to the family members of the victim. If they feel unsafe due to you reaching out to a victim’s family members, it can make stalking charges look worse. This also applies to threats and harmful actions related to a victim’s pets or children.
• Property damage. Both threats of damage and actual damage to a victim’s personal property can count as acts of stalking. These behaviors can threaten the victim’s emotional well-being and make them feel unsafe around their property.
• Telling lies. Even if you don’t contact the victim directly, lying about their character or actions to people close to them can threaten their relationship with friends and loved ones. These lies can lead to the victim feeling unsafe and filing stalking charges.

What Is a DVPO?

A domestic violence protection order, or DVPO, is sometimes placed on an individual who is found to be stalking or harassing a loved one. This mostly applies to spouses, current and former, but it can also apply to other personal relationships. If this order is granted, it requires the person to stop harassing the victim. It could also affect divorce proceedings, especially if the spouses have children together and require visitation and custody agreements.

Stalking and Divorce

Unfortunately, stalking charges and divorce proceedings often go hand in hand. Here are some ways that stalking or harassment charges can affect the divorce process:

• No-fault state. Most states in the U.S., including North Carolina, are no-fault divorce states. This means you do not need a reason to get divorced, and accusations of domestic violence, stalking, or threats do not necessarily need to be true for a divorce to occur.
• Domestic abuse. In Charlotte, stalking is considered domestic abuse. This means it sometimes comes with similar consequences as other domestic abuse charges like physical, sexual, or financial abuse, which can impact the outcome of a divorce.
• Child custody. Accusations of stalking can affect whether the accused gets custody and visitation of their children. Some agreements require supervised visits where a third party must be present while the accused parent and children are together.
• Property division. If a spouse has been mistreated by the other, it can increase the amount of property and assets they are granted to act as compensation for their suffering. It can also potentially increase the cost of spousal support, or payments that one spouse makes to another to protect their quality of living after the divorce.

Due to the large impact that stalking charges can have on your divorce, it is important to contact a criminal defense attorney if you believe your charges were made maliciously against you.

Protect Yourself Against False Claims

While many claims of things like cyberstalking and harassment are true, there have been issues where individuals have filed false charges to get back at the defendant. Some actions you can take to prevent false claims from holding up in court include:

• Remain calm. It might be tempting to angrily retaliate against the accuser, especially if you have not done the things they are accusing you of, but it is important to stay calm during this process. Emotionally charged responses can build a case against you. Working with a stalking charges attorney can help you deliver a neutral and collected response against false accusations.
• Document your interactions. Start keeping a written record of when interactions between the accuser and you occur. Detail what happened during these interactions, where and when they took place, and if there were any witnesses there that could support your claims.
• Collect other evidence. If there is any additional evidence, like a victim’s medical records or photographs of alleged abuse, it is important to gather that as well. If there is no evidence that the abuse actually happened, it could have a negative outcome in your case.
• Witness statements. If there were witnesses during previous interactions, contact them to get an account of what they saw. Their experiences can corroborate yours and make your story sound more legitimate.

The victim can request the court to place a domestic violence protection order, or DVPO, on you for one year. Evidence and statements from witnesses can affect a judge’s decision to grant this DVPO.

Charlotte Stalking FAQs

Q: What Is the Statute of Stalking in NC?

A: In Charlotte, if a person harasses another person without a legal reason and knows that it might make the other person fear for their safety or well-being, it is considered stalking. Harassment can take many forms and can occur in person, via writing, or virtually. Stalking can be considered a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the number of times the person has done it before.

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations on Stalking in NC?

A: The statute of limitations on stalking in Charlotte depends on the specific charges. If the charge is a misdemeanor, then it usually has a statute of limitations of two years. If the victim of stalking was a child at the time, then there is a 10-year statute of limitations. If the persecutor was assigned a felony charge, the statute of limitations might differ.

Q: What Qualifies as Harassment in NC?

A: In Charlotte, harassment is defined as any type of message that does not have a purpose other than instilling fear into the recipient. If the perpetrator repeatedly harasses a victim and makes them fear for their safety or physical well-being, the behavior is considered stalking. The amount of emotional distress the victim experiences plays a substantial role in determining the verdict and charges of a harassment case.

Q: How Do I Press Charges for Harassment in NC?

A: It is possible to file for a protective order against someone harassing or stalking you in Charlotte. This applies to domestic violence as well as instant protection or no-contact orders. To press harassment charges, contact a stalking and harassment attorney to determine the scope of your case and the type of charges you might be able to file.

Let Us Provide Assistance in Your Case

Don’t let false stalking or harassment charges ruin your life or affect your divorce. Schedule a consultation with The Law Office of Kevin L. Barnett to review your options and determine a positive course of action for your situation. Let us help your case so you can get back to your life as quickly as possible.