{"id":15318,"date":"2019-02-08T10:27:25","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T17:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/criminal-defense-law\/?page_id=15318"},"modified":"2023-10-30T15:50:36","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T22:50:36","slug":"harassment-charge-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/criminal-defense-law\/blog\/harassment-charge-arizona\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens If You Get Charged With Harassment in Arizona?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Have you been charged with harassment? While not a felony, a misdemeanor harassment charge<\/a> still carries the potential for serious consequences. If convicted, you could face incarceration, probation, fines, community service, and mandatory counseling. In some cases, the charges alone can seriously harm your career, as employers are often reluctant to hire or promote employees with a criminal record.<\/p>\n

What ultimately happens after you\u2019re charged with harassment depends on the unique circumstances of your case. You may be able to avoid jail time if you have a clean criminal record, though a conviction would still likely result in a fine, probation, and\/or community service. You may also be required to complete an applicable counseling program, such as anger management, domestic violence counseling, or sex offender treatment.<\/p>\n

Arizona Criminal Harassment Laws Explained<\/h2>\n

Under Arizona law, harassment includes \u201cconduct that is directed at a specific person and that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed, or harassed, and the conduct in fact seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses the person\u201d (ARS 13-2921<\/a>).<\/p>\n

What Exactly Constitutes Harassment in Arizona?<\/h3>\n

The law provides six examples, all of which require the offending party to act with intent to harass or with an understanding that they are harassing the victim:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Anonymously or otherwise contacting, communicating, or causing a communication with another person by verbal, electronic, mechanical, telegraphic, telephonic, or written means in a manner that harasses.<\/li>\n
  2. Continuing to follow another person in or about a public place for no legitimate purpose after being asked to stop.<\/li>\n
  3. Repeatedly committing an act or acts that harass another person.<\/li>\n
  4. Surveilling or causing another person to surveil a person for no legitimate purpose.<\/li>\n
  5. Making a false report to law enforcement, credit agencies, or social service agencies on more than one occasion.<\/li>\n
  6. Interfering with the delivery of any public or regulated utility to a person.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While harassment via electronic communication is briefly addressed in ARS 13-2921, the use of an electronic communication to terrify, intimidate, threaten, or harass someone is addressed separately in ARS 13-2916<\/a>. In this context, electronic communication involves electronic mail (email), instant messages, text messages, phone calls, cables, and wire lines.<\/p>\n

    Examples include:<\/p>\n