12 DEC <strong>2012</strong> - JAN 2013 | HCBA LAWYER
S T A T E A T T O R N E Y ’ S M E S S A G E Mark A. Ober, State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Injunction for Protection Against Stalking This law provides another option for stalking victims and an additional layer of protection. The process of obtaining an injunction for protection is familiar to many legal practitioners. Until recently, an injunction for protection could be obtained by victims of domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, or sexual violence. In each of these cases, the person seeking the injunction had to show that the respondent had made threats of violence or committed acts of violence against the victim; for a repeat violence injunction to issue, there needed to be multiple threats or acts of violence. Fla. Stat. § 784.046(1)(b). This meant that victims of stalking were not necessarily able to avail themselves of the protections afforded by an injunction if the stalking did not include direct threats or acts of violence or if the parties did not have a relationship of the nature listed on the injunction. According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, one in six women and one in 19 men have been stalked. 1 While the legal definition of stalking varies from state to state, the act of stalking is centered on the creation of fear in the victim. In Florida, the crime of stalking is committed when a person “willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses or cyberstalks another person.” Fla. Stat § 784.048(2). Harassment occurs when a person engages in a course of conduct that is directed at a specific person and that course of conduct serves no legitimate purpose and causes substantial emotional distress. Fla. Stat. § 784.048(1)(a). On October 1, <strong>2012</strong>, Florida Statute § 784.0485 went into effect. This statute created a new type of injunction styled an “Injunction for Protection against Stalking.” Fla. Stat. § 784.0485. This law provides another option for stalking victims and an additional layer of protection. In order to obtain a stalking injunction, a victim is not required to show that a particular type of relationship exists, but only that the respondent has stalked the victim. Fla. Stat. § 784.0485(3). A violation of a stalking injunction may be prosecuted as a criminal offense under Fla. Stat. § 784.0487 or may be enforced through a civil or criminal contempt proceeding before the court that issued the injunction. Fla. Stat. § 784.0485(9)(a). If a victim of stalking is not ready to seek criminal prosecution or wants additional protections from the stalker, the victim can now seek an injunction for protection. As your state attorney, one of my main goals is to keep the people of <strong>Hillsborough</strong> <strong>County</strong> safe. By educating people about the legal tools available to protect them, my office seeks to accomplish this goal. When we can live in our community free of this type of criminal activity, we all benefit. 1 Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M.R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DEC <strong>2012</strong> - JAN 2013 | HCBA LAWYER 13
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