Exercise 4 - Stalking

Defendant is charged with misdemeanor stalking under §30-3A-3(A)(2) based on 20 instances where he was parked outside an elementary school to watch the victim as she picked up her 10-year old child (no relation to defendant). The victim testifies that the defendant is an ex-boyfriend who has engaged in these actions due to a bad break-up between them. The victim further testifies that the defendant's repeated surveillance did not cause her to fear for herself. However, the victim testifies that she was seriously fearful about the safety of her child and how the defendant's actions might be impacting the child who had never cared for the defendant when they were dating. The judge finds the victim to be credible.

How should the judge decide the case?

A. Find the defendant not guilty of stalking based on the victim expressly testifying that she did not feel fearful for herself in response to defendant's surveillance.

Answer A is incorrect. Under §30-3A-3(A), the intent of the defendant's surveillance can be to cause a reasonable person to fear either for his/her own safety or the safety of a household member. The victim's child falls within the definition of "household member" as set forth in §30-3A-3(B). Please select another answer.

B. Find the defendant not guilty of stalking based on the fact that the 10-year old child is not a blood-relative of the defendant and therefore is not a "household member" as defined under §30-3A-3(B) of the stalking statute.

Answer B is incorrect. Under §30-3A-3(A) and (B), the "household member" definition is not limited to either blood relations of the defendant or to "household members" defined exclusively from the defendant's perspective. Rather, in this case, the victim of the stalking was fearful for the safety of a "household member," her biological child from a relationship other than with the defendant. Please select another answer.

C. Find the defendant guilty of stalking based on the defendant's pattern of surveillance of the child's school which caused the victim to fear for the safety of her child.

Answer C is correct! Under §30-3A-3(A), the intent of the defendant's surveillance can be to cause a reasonable person to fear either for his/her own safety or the safety of a household member. The victim's child falls within the definition of "household member" as set forth in §30-3A-3(B). The fact that the victim was not in fear for herself is not relevant given her fear for her child's safety due to defendant's surveillance.