Attempted Stalking
Posted By Michael Redenburg on Jan 12, 2012 6:39am PST
In early 2011, The Court of Appeals of New York stated that attempted stalking in the third degree is a legally cognizable offense
, People v. Aponte, 16 N.Y.3d 106, 94 N.E.2d 204, 918 N.Y.S.2d 766. The Court further decided
that
Penal Law § 120.50 [3] strictly penalizes conduct--engaging in "a course of
conduct...likely to cause" certain consequences and that therefore, an attempt to engage in that conduct is not a
legal impossibility
. Id. The Court went on to hold that, because stalking proscribes the performance of certain acts, the attempt to commit those acts are punishable as a criminal offense
. Id.
The defendant in the
criminal court matter was charged with the crimes of stalking in the third degree, PL120.50[3]; harassment in the first degree, PL240.25; and harassment in the second degree, PL240.26
. Id. at 108. Because the People's (the prosecutor's) motion to reduce the charged count of stalking in the third degree to attempted stalking in the third degree was granted, the defendant's case was tried without a jury, also known as a bench trial
. Id. The People often "reduce" in cases such as this so as to avoid the time and expense involved in a jury trial. By statute, a defendant charged by an information with a B
misdemeanor in New York City is not entitled to a jury trial; and therefore, a prosecutor in the city courts may reduce a charge to a class B misdemeanor in order to avoid a jury trial. The Court went on to hold that the factual allegations of the criminal court complaint established every element of stalking in the third degree and
harassment in the first degree
. Id. at 110. The Court further reasoned that the relevant portions of the penal statute for stalking penalize behavior that is likely to cause harm, and do not require proof of actual harm to establish guilt
. Id. at 109.