On Mon, 26 Dec 2005 19:26:04 -0800, Frank Gilliland wrote:
On 27 Dec 2005 00:17:54 GMT, "Christy D"
wrote in
:

On 26 Dec 2005 14:28:34 -0800, an_old_friend wrote:
[a bunch of pipe dreams]

Here is the real truth: You can be charged with stalking, fined
$1,000, and sent to jail for one year. If you threatened someone's
life, you can be charged with a felony, fined $10,000, and spend five
years in jail. Mr. Robeson won't have to spend one penny.

===(begin quote from http://www.counseling.mtu.edu/Stalking.htm)===

According to Michigan Penal Code........


Irrelevant. Dudly lives in Tennessee (or so he claims). That makes it
a federal issue which precludes state jurisdiction in both civil and

Sigh.

Jurisdiction was long ago addressed, but not with the outcome you
claim.

The overriding consideration is that the crime was committed by a
Michigan resident while physically located in Michigan, and that
Michigan can therefore prosecute the stalker, no matter where the
victim may reside.

One resource which discusses this fully is available freely on the
web. It is written in language simple enough for a layman like
yourself to understand.

Here, let me quote part of it. N.B. the final paragraph. Emphasis
added for clarity.

====(from Cyberage Stalking by Barbara Fullerton)====
Most stalker cases are prosecuted at the state and local level, so it
is up to each state to provide language that will protect potential
victims. Most often, first time offenders are given lenient fines or
punishments. Some state laws need to be changed to offer more severe
punishments. All 50 states have stalking laws, and about 42 states
now have laws that include electronic communications as a harassment
tool or in some way relate to cyberstalking. States that do not have
laws yet a Utah, New Jersey, New Mexico, Idaho, Nebraska, and DC.
In 1993, *Michigan was the first state to pass a stalking law that
included the words electronic harassment.* It has been a challenge for
the states to find a balance between a law that involves expressive
conduct and speech which is protected under the First Amendment, and
laws that protect victims and forbid harassment and provide privacy.

Another problem is the accused may not be in the same jurisdiction as
the victim, or where the offense occurred. But in these instances,
states have broadened their jurisdiction rules to help address
cybercrimes that are not part of their harassment laws, like
jurisdiction. *In their jurisdiction laws, courts can look at where
the stalking began, various sites the messages may have passed, and
the physical location of the stalker.*