Las Vegas harassment charges are frequently brought against perfectly innocent people. Perhaps their normal behavior was misinterpreted as threatening, or perhaps they were falsely accused. Whatever the case, getting convicted for harassment can carry hefty penalties and cause potential employers to not hire you.
Keep reading to learn about Nevada harassment law and how our Las Vegas criminal defense lawyers may be able to help get your charges dismissed or reduced so your record stays clean.
When is “harassment” a criminal offense in Nevada?
Harassment is an extremely general crime that comprises many possible actions. Broadly speaking, to harass in Nevada means knowingly to threaten someone else with harm so that person reasonably fears that the threat will be carried out. Such harm may include:
- Bodily injury,
- Physical damage to property,
- Being restrained or physically confined, or
- Anything else intended to substantially harm another person’s physical or mental safety.
In order to be considered harassment in Clark County, the threats can be made by words or conduct. It’s also considered harassment to threaten one person to harm another person, such as threatening a mother to hurt her baby. And the injury being threatened doesn’t have to be immediate—threatening to do harm in the future may still be harassment.
Relation to Nevada crime of stalking
Although harassment is a separate offense from stalking, they are closely related because they both comprise behavior that causes another person to reasonably fear being harmed. The main difference is that harassment is the direct threatening of harm through words or actions, whereas stalking usually involves trying to force contact with the victim.
Also see our article on hazing (NRS 200.605).
Getting convicted for harassment can cause potential employers to not hire you.
How do I fight the charges?
If you’ve been charged with harassment in Nevada, remember that you can’t be convicted unless the prosecutors prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you’re guilty. And since many of these cases have no hard evidence other than the accusations of the supposed victim, it’s not uncommon for the D.A.s to ultimately dismiss the case or reduce it to a more minor charge. Some defenses your lawyer can explore using are the following:
- Your actions were in self-defense.
- The “victim” is lying about what you said or did.
- Your behavior did not rise to the level of harassment.
- You were acting under “lawful authority” (such as a security guard or cop), or your actions fell under the constitutional protection of freedom of speech and assembly.
What are the penalties?
The penalties a Clark County judge will impose for a harassment conviction depends upon whether the person committed harassment before, threatened substantial bodily harm, or used the internet to carry out the harassment:
Standard penalties
A first offense of committing harassment is just a misdemeanor in Nevada, carrying the following sentence:
- up to 6 months in jail, and/or
- up to a $1,000 fine
Any subsequent harassment offenses are charged as gross misdemeanors, which have double the maximum penalties:
- up to 364 days in jail, and/or
- up to a $2,000 fine
Fear of death or substantial bodily harm
If the alleged harassment caused the “victim” to fear substantial bodily harm, then the D.A. may instead bring category B charges carrying a sentence of:
- 2 to 15 years imprisonment, and
- maybe a $5,000 fine
If the threatening behavior transpired over the web, text messaging or a similar service, the harassment may be charged as a category C felony.
Online harassment
And if the threatening behavior transpired over the web, text messaging or a similar service, the harassment may be charged as a category C felony, which mandates:
- 1 to 5 years imprisonment, and
- maybe a $10,000 fine
Learn about Nevada’s cyber-stalking laws.
Protective Orders; (NRS 200.591)
In many Nevada harassment cases, a judge will also impose either a temporary protective order (TPO) or an extended protective order requiring the suspect to keep away from the “victim” for a predetermined period of time. Deliberately violating one of these orders can carry harsher penalties than the harassment itself:
It’s a gross misdemeanor to intentionally defy a temporary order in Nevada. The punishment includes:
- up to 364 days in jail, and/or
- up to a $2,000 fine
And it’s a category C felony to intentionally break an extended order. The punishment includes:
- 1 to 5 years imprisonment, and
- maybe a $10,000 fine
Non-citizens
Because harassment may be considered a “crime involving moral turpitude” (CIMT), immigrants arrested for it are at risk of deportation if they’re ultimately convicted. That’s why it’s important for any alien charged with any crime to hire counsel to try to negotiate the charges down to something non-removable in order to protect their resident status.
Call us if you have been arrested . . . .
Call us for help
Our Las Vegas criminal defense lawyers will explore every avenue to try to get your harassment case thrown out or lessened to petty charges. If you’re facing criminal charges of any kind, we welcome you to contact us for a consultation.