How can I defend against a DV complaint based on harassment?
The offense of harassment is the most commonly alleged act of domestic violence. The reason for this is because it is probably the most nebulous in meaning of the various domestic violence offenses, and the one most susceptible to subjective interpretation. Harassment is defined in the New Jersey Criminal Code as follows: “A person commits a petty disorderly persons offense, if with purpose to harass another, he: a. Makes, or causes to be made, a communication or communications anonymously or at extremely inconvenient hours, or in offensively coarse language, or any other manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm; b. Subjects another to striking, kicking, shoving, or other offensive touching, or threatens to do so; or c. Engages in any other course of alarming conduct or of repeatedly committed acts with purpose to alarm or seriously annoy such other person.” Defense counsel should always argue that the alleged acts of harassment did not amount to a pattern of abuse and controlling beh
