criminal-law texas
How broad are Texas&#39; stalking laws now?
<p>In looking at Texas stalking laws, especially since 2015, in Section 42.072, it appears that even the following actions are illegal:</p>

<p>Person A and Person B are in an online but intimate and romantic relationship. Both live in Texas.
From time to time one of them gets upset at the other and blocks the other from their social media page. But at some point they make up and resume the relationship.</p>

<p>Person A blocks Person B. This time for a month.</p>

<p>Person B thinks something is wrong so Person B attempts to contact Person A using email, social media, phone, texts, etc. Person B attempts for a month to make contact.
Person B sends several gifts to Person A's house. At no point does Person A respond in any way.</p>

<p>None of the messages Person B sends threatens violence in any way, nor is intended to annoy, harass or embarrass. (words used in the new Texas law)</p>

<p>Person B drove by Person A's house at one time, but didn't knock or attempt contact.</p>

<p>These attempts went on for about 2 months. Person B then gives up.</p>

<p>Person A then files stalking charges against Person B.</p>

<p>From looking at Texas law, it appears that Person B has unwittingly committed several violations of the law if Person A feels annoyed in any way.</p>

<p>Is this true? Or does there have to be intent? If so, how hard is intent to prove?</p>

<p>The statute in question reads as follows and appears to have been last amended on September 1, 2013. I have highlighted the relevant portions of the statute and one it references to the kind of conduct mentioned.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Sec. 42.072.  STALKING.  <strong>(a)  A person commits an offense if the
  person, on more than one occasion and pursuant to the same scheme or
  course of conduct that is directed specifically at another person,
  knowingly engages in conduct that:</strong></p>
  
  <p><strong>(1)  constitutes an offense under Section 42.07,</strong> or that the actor
  knows or reasonably should know the other person will regard as
  threatening:</p>
  
  <p>(A)  bodily injury or death for the other person;</p>
  
  <p>(B)  bodily injury or death for a member of the other person's family
  or household or for an individual with whom the other person has a
  dating relationship; or</p>
  
  <p>(C)  that an offense will be committed against the other person's
  property;</p>
  
  <p>(2)  <strong>causes the other person, a member of the other person's family or
  household, or an individual with whom the other person has a dating
  relationship to be placed</strong> in fear of bodily injury or death or in fear
  that an offense will be committed against the other person's property,
  or <strong>to feel harassed, annoyed, alarmed, abused, tormented, embarrassed,
  or offended; and</strong></p>
  
  <p><strong>(3)  would cause a reasonable person to:</strong></p>
  
  <p>(A)  fear bodily injury or death for himself or herself;</p>
  
  <p>(B)  fear bodily injury or death for a member of the person's family
  or household or for an individual with whom the person has a dating
  relationship;</p>
  
  <p>(C)  fear that an offense will be committed against the person's
  property; or</p>
  
  <p><strong>(D)  feel harassed, annoyed, alarmed, abused, tormented, embarrassed,
  or offended.</strong></p>
  
  <p>(b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree,
  except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the actor
  has previously been convicted of an offense under this section or of
  an offense under any of the following laws that contains elements that
  are substantially similar to the elements of an offense under this
  section:</p>
  
  <p>(1)  the laws of another state;</p>
  
  <p>(2)  the laws of a federally recognized Indian tribe;</p>
  
  <p>(3)  the laws of a territory of the United States; or</p>
  
  <p>(4)  federal law.</p>
  
  <p><strong>(c)  For purposes of this section, a trier of fact may find that
  different types of conduct described by Subsection (a), if engaged in
  on more than one occasion, constitute conduct that is engaged in
  pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct.</strong></p>
  
  <p>(d)  In this section:</p>
  
  <p>(1)  "Dating relationship," "family," "household," and "member of a
  household" have the meanings assigned by Chapter 71, Family Code.</p>
  
  <p>(2)  "Property" includes a pet, companion animal, or assistance
  animal, as defined by Section 121.002, Human Resources Code.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Section 42.07 is the crime of harassment in Texas which reads as follows:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(a) <strong>A person commits an offense if, with intent to harass, annoy,
  alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person:</strong></p>
  
  <p><strong>(1) initiates communication and in the course of the communication
  makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal that is obscene;</strong></p>
  
  <p>(2) threatens, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person
  receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the person or to
  commit a felony against the person, a member of the person's family or
  household, or the person's property;</p>
  
  <p>(3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person
  receiving the report, a false report, which is known by the conveyor
  to be false, that another person has suffered death or serious bodily
  injury;</p>
  
  <p><strong>(4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly or makes
  repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a manner
  reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass,
  or offend another;</strong></p>
  
  <p><strong>(5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to hang up or
  disengage the connection;</strong></p>
  
  <p><strong>(6) knowingly permits a telephone under the person's control to be
  used by another to commit an offense under this section;</strong>  or</p>
  
  <p><strong>(7) sends repeated electronic communications in a manner reasonably
  likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend
  another.</strong></p>
  
  <p>(b) In this section:</p>
  
  <p>(1) “Electronic communication” means a transfer of signs, signals,
  writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature
  transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic,
  photoelectronic, or photo-optical system.  The term includes:</p>
  
  <p>(A) a communication initiated by electronic mail, instant message,
  network call, or facsimile machine;  and</p>
  
  <p>(B) a communication made to a pager.</p>
  
  <p>(2) “Family” and “household” have the meaning assigned by Chapter 71,
  Family Code.</p>
  
  <p>(3) “Obscene” means containing a patently offensive description of or
  a solicitation to commit an ultimate sex act, including sexual
  intercourse, masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anilingus, or a
  description of an excretory function.</p>
  
  <p>(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, except
  that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has previously
  been convicted under this section.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Intent is required per 42.07(a) and it has to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, but also doesn't have to be proved by direct confession and instead can be inferred from circumstantial evidence.</p>

<p>Ultimately, the application of these statutes to the fact patterns in question require a dozen real human beings on a jury to apply the facts that hear testimony about to the law and there is no 100% certain answer.</p>
