A man who left vulgar messages on an assistant district attorney’s voicemail cannot be charged with second-degree aggravated harassment for what a judge concluded was protected speech that did not rise to a “true threat.”

In dismissing the misdemeanor case on Monday, District Court Judge Valerie Alexander in Nassau County observed that the state’s harassment statute unconstitutionally infringed on the defendant’s First Amendment rights, saying the law’s “vagueness and overbreadth” was clear and “cries out to be reworked.”

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]