September 08, 2012 (Press-News.org) Texas law treats domestic violence as a serious crime. All reported acts of domestic abuse -- a crime that ranges broadly from verbal threats to physical battery -- will be investigated by law enforcement. A conviction on domestic violence charges can bring serious criminal consequences, including a lengthy prison term.
Texas' domestic violence laws have tended to get stricter over time. Recently, the state changed its criminal code to broaden the definition of stalking. It did so because of the strong connection between stalking and violent crime. Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that approximately 75 percent of female homicides and 85 percent of attempted female homicides started with stalking.
What Is Stalking?
Broadly speaking, stalking involves a person who attempts to control someone else's behavior through threats, intimidation or fear. Under Texas law, stalking is defined as repeated conduct intended to threaten bodily injury or death to the targeted person, a member of the targeted person's family or household, or a person the target is dating. Stalking also includes threats of offenses against the targeted person's property.
In other words, stalking is much more than simply following another person around. It could take the form of repeated emails, phone calls or text messages. Stalking does not necessarily require personal contact -- for example, repeated damage to property can fit the definition.
A common defense to stalking is that a reasonable person would not have been put in fear of harm by the perpetrator's behavior.
What Are the Penalties for Stalking?
In Texas, stalking is a felony of the third degree. Third degree felonies are punishable by between two and 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Repeat stalking offenses are felonies of the second degree, punishable by between two and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.
What if I Am Accused of Stalking?
If you are accused of stalking, you need to take the allegations seriously. You should immediately cease contact with the person making the claim, even if you do not believe you have done anything wrong.
Then, you need to take steps to plan your defense and protect your rights. Talk to a Houston criminal defense attorney who can help you respond to the charges against you.
Article provided by Tad A. Nelson & Associates
Visit us at www.houstongalvestonlawyer.com
Definition of 'Stalking' Expanded in Texas
Texas' domestic violence laws have tended to get stricter over time. Recently, the state changed its criminal code to broaden the definition of stalking. It did so because of the strong connection between stalking and violent crime.
2012-09-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Electronic Privacy Law May Soon Be Updated
2012-09-08
The next time you pick up your smartphone to check your Facebook messages, boot up your netbook to check the latest news, or even use your tablet to upload pictures of your latest adventure, think about how communication has changed since 1986.
Just over 35 years ago, Congress enacted the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA); a law geared to update the Federal Wiretap Act of 1968 so that electronic communications are protected as they are made, while they are in transit, and when they are stored on computers. It also prevented the government from retrieving (or ...
Divorce 101-Different Types of Divorce
2012-09-08
If you have decided you want a divorce, you need to decide what method or process you wish to use. There is traditional litigation and there are alternative methods, and you need to consider which one may best suit your circumstances.
Traditional Litigation
This is what most people conceive of as "a divorce." Both spouses are represented by divorce attorneys, disputes can be taken to the court where a judge will decide the issue and sign the final divorce agreement or settlement.
This method is fully "adversarial," in that both sides have their ...
Facebook, Other Social Media Coming Into Play in Child Support Cases
2012-09-08
Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites are marketed to the public as a way to maintain interpersonal connections, and as a source of entertainment. However, the value of social media as a data-mining tool is increasingly coming to the forefront in contexts that can have important, real-world consequences.
One of those contexts is the courtroom. Of course, everyone has heard the news stories about hapless criminals who post evidence of their malfeasance online. Yet, the power of social media in the courtroom often operates on a much more subtle level. More ...
Avoiding Conflict Through Uncontested Divorce
2012-09-08
Divorce can be one of the most painful and humiliating experiences a person can have in life. It may arise after months or years of strife, or because of infidelity, for example. It is no secret that hard feelings and revenge are frequently played out in court proceedings, and divorcing parties may never want to speak to each other after the divorce is final.
Indeed, divorcees are entitled to their emotional pain. After all, marriage is supposed to last forever, and divorce often carries with it a strong sense of betrayal. People in these situations often don't see the ...
Trademark Issues? Why Hiring an Attorney May Be in Your Best Interests
2012-09-08
Unique marks are instrumental to the establishment and growth of a thriving business. Savvy businesspeople the world over know the importance of protecting their company's name, slogans and logos from imitators. Every business works hard to develop and capitalize on its reputation and good will, and it is extremely important to keep others from profiting off of that hard work or diluting or diminishing the value of the brand.
In the United States, legally enforceable protection for this type of intellectual property is available through trademark registration. Although ...
Effective Use of Utah Non-Compete Agreements
2012-09-08
An increasingly common part of doing business is dealing with non-compete agreements. Salt Lake City companies may use the contracts to protect their intellectual property, trade secrets, customer lists and other business interests.
Non-compete agreements make it difficult for former employees to find similar employment in a particular field. Employees should carefully consider an agreement's conditions before signing these contracts, and may be able to challenge the terms of a non-compete agreement in court if its restrictions are unreasonably broad.
Corporations ...
Amid Recalls, Questions Abound About Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants
2012-09-08
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently convened a special advisory panel to deal with the ongoing issues arising from a number of metal-on-metal hip replacement components. An 18-member panel comprised of physicians and medical experts from around the country met to discuss the unique complications arising from the implantation of a number of different replacement hip components manufactured and distributed by:
- Johnson & Johnson/DePuy Orthopedics
- Biomet
- Wright Medical
- Zimmer Holdings
- Encore Medical
- Smith & Nephew
More recently ...
Florida Child Relocation: How Do You Measure a 50-Mile Move?
2012-09-08
When a child's parents are unmarried, whether through divorce or because they never chose to marry, moving the child's primary residence through parent relocation can be legally complicated. For example, if the child lives with the father in Pensacola and the mother lives nearby and regularly spends time with the child, and the father gets a job offer in Miami, may he move away with the child? The 600 miles between the parents would clearly interfere with the relationship of the child and the mother.
Florida Relocation Law
The Florida statute that controls child relocation ...
Standard chemotherapy provides equivalent survival rate to experimental in lung cancer patients
2012-09-07
Treatment with pemetrexed, carboplatin and bevacizumab followed by maintenance pemetrexed and bevacizumab (Pem+Cb+B) is no better than standard therapy with paclitaxel, carboplatin and bevacizumab followed by bevacizumab (Pac+Cb+B) in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NS-NSCLC), according to research presented at the 2012 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology. This symposium is sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the International Association ...
Rust never sleeps
2012-09-07
Rust – iron oxide – is a poor conductor of electricity, which is why an electronic device with a rusted battery usually won't work. Despite this poor conductivity, an electron transferred to a particle of rust will use thermal energy to continually move or "hop" from one atom of iron to the next. Electron mobility in iron oxide can hold huge significance for a broad range of environment- and energy-related reactions, including reactions pertaining to uranium in groundwater and reactions pertaining to low-cost solar energy devices. Predicting the impact of electron-hopping ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
How superstorm Gannon squeezed Earth’s plasmasphere to one-fifth its size
Gene scissors in camouflage mode help in the search for cancer therapies
Breaking the cycle of vulnerability: study identifies modifiable elements to build community resilience and improve health
Millions of people in the UK are being drawn into bribery and money laundering, according to new study
Could a child have painted that? Jackson Pollock's famous pour-painting has child-like characteristics, study shows
Broad support for lethal control of wild deer among nature organisation subscribers
Over a decade in the making: Illuminating new possibilities with lanthanide nanocrystals
Deadly, record-breaking heatwaves will persist for 1,000 years, even under net zero
Maps created by 1960s schoolchildren provide new insights into habitat losses
Cool comfort: beating the heat with high-tech clothes
New study reveals how China can cut nitrogen pollution while safeguarding national food security
Two thirds of women experience too much or too little weight gain in pregnancy
Thousands of NHS doctors trapped in insecure “gig economy” contracts
Two thirds of women gain too much or too little weight in pregnancy: Global study
Livestock manure linked to the rapid spread of hidden antibiotic resistance threats in farmland soils
National Women’s Soccer League launches Hands-Only CPR effort, led by player Savy King
School accountability yields long-term gains for students
Half of novelists believe AI is likely to replace their work entirely, research finds
World's largest metabolomic study completed, paving way for predictive medicine
Center for Open Science awarded grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to preserve and safeguard publicly funded scientific data
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers identify genetic factors influencing bone density in pediatric patients
Trapping particles to explain lightning
Teens who play video games with gambling-like elements more likely to start real betting, study suggests
Maternal health program cuts infection deaths by 32%
Use of head CT scans in ERs more than doubles over 15 years
Open spaces in cities may be hotspots for coyote-human interaction
Focused ultrasound passes first test in treatment of pediatric brain cancer
Beef vs. plant-based meat: UT Austin study finds diet alters breast milk composition in under a week
Two new studies from Schneider Electric and the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability reveal 95 barriers and 50 risks slowing decarbonization in the building sector
Women authors underrepresented among retracted medical papers
[Press-News.org] Definition of 'Stalking' Expanded in TexasTexas' domestic violence laws have tended to get stricter over time. Recently, the state changed its criminal code to broaden the definition of stalking. It did so because of the strong connection between stalking and violent crime.