NCJ Number
146404
Journal
St. John's Law Review Volume: 67 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1993) Pages: 347- 381
Date Published
1993
Length
35 pages
Annotation
Stalking and the effectiveness of antistalking statutes are examined.
Abstract
The author discusses questions of policy, of constitutionality, and of effectiveness, then offers his own statute. Stalking is largely defined according to victim status or victim-offender relationship: celebrity victim, nonacquaintance, co-worker or acquaintance, and spouse or lover. The latter category is believed to be the largest and receives the most legislative attention. Half of all women killed in the United States are wives or lovers of the killer; as many as 90 percent are stalked first. Traditional tort theory-based remedies are inappropriate in terms of both prevention and victim compensation. Injunctive remedies are generally more effective, but in many cases, prove to be cumbersome, difficult to enforce, and ultimately do not deter the stalker. The proposed statute contains various elements of existing stalking statutes, such that qualifications for stalking behavior are broad enough to account for a wide variety of stalking situations, and specific enough to withstand challenges on constitutional grounds. Table, 193 footnotes