Travis J. Tormey and the Tormey Law Firm LLC recently helped a client beat criminal charges for harassment in the Bernards Township Municipal Court. The client lived in a condo building in Bernardsville NJ and who got into a heated argument with two people: another resident who was on the condo’s Board and the super who ran the condo association. Our client was not pleased with the building’s process for removing snow, so he voiced his concerns to the board member. A verbal argument ensued, with both parties exchanging insults. Despite the contentious nature of the discussion, the client’s sole purpose was to express his concerns with the condo’s snow removal process.

N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4: Governing Harassment Charges in New Jersey

Except as provided in subsection e., a person commits a petty disorderly persons offense if, with purpose to harass another, he or she:

a. Makes, or causes to be made, a communication or communications anonymously or at extremely inconvenient hours, or in offensively coarse language, or any other manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm;

b. Subjects another to striking, kicking, shoving, or other offensive touching, or threatens to do so; or

c. Engages in any other course of alarming conduct or of repeatedly committed acts with purpose to alarm or seriously annoy such other person.

A communication under subsection a. may be deemed to have been made either at the place where it originated or at the place where it was received.

e. A person commits a crime of the fourth degree if, in committing an offense under this section, he was serving a term of imprisonment or was on parole or probation as the result of a conviction of any indictable offense under the laws of this State, any other state or the United States.

Bernards Township Harassment Case

In the Bernards Township harassment case, local prosecutors charged the client under subsections (a) and (c) of the statute because the client allegedly used offensively coarse language during the argument with the Board member. Prosecutors also tried to classify the client’s actions as a “course of conduct” because he went back to speak to the Board member at about the snow removal issues on at least two occasions. The Bernards Township Municipal Court judge ultimately decided to dismiss the harassment charges because the client’s purpose in communicating his objection to the snow removal process was clearly not to harass the Board member.

After the judge dismissed the Board member’s charges, the super of the condo complex agreed to voluntarily dismiss her charges. This was a fantastic outcome for our client and another legal victory for the Tormey Law Firm.

Here is the glowing review from our client about how we handled this harassment case:

Kick Ass Attorney!

5.0 stars

Posted by John

August 16, 2016

Travis successfully defended four (4) false harassment charges against me! He has a sharp mind and was able to quickly understand an extremely complicated Condo Association related matter. At my trial today, Travis dominated the prosecuting attorney (Stephen O. Davis) from start to finish. He did an outstanding job! Travis has a passion for law and genuinely cares about his client’s best interest. Highly recommended!!!