Other Laws

Other Laws Related to Stalking and/or Harassment

In addition to state law, it is important to note that stalking and/or harassment may be addressed under federal or tribal law.

As one example, federal law 18 U.S.C. §2261A, Stalking, provides generally as follows:

A person who

(1) travels in interstate or foreign commerce … or enters or leaves Indian country, with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another person, and in the course of, or as a result of, such travel places that person in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to, or causes substantial emotional distress to that person, a member of the immediate family (as defined in 18 USCS §115) of that person, or the spouse or intimate partner of that person; or

(2) with the intent--

(A) to kill, injure, harass, or place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person in another State or tribal jurisdiction …; or

(B) to place a person in another State or tribal jurisdiction … in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to--

(i) that person;
(ii) a member of the immediate family (as defined in 18 USCS §115) of that person; or
(iii) a spouse or intimate partner of that person; uses the mail, any interactive computer service, or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce to engage in a course of conduct that causes substantial emotional distress to that person or places that person in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to, any of the persons described in clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph (B);

shall be punished as provided in 18 USCS §2261(b).

Additionally, the many tribal codes in existence in the New Mexico area may contain provisions relating to stalking and/or harassment.