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E-harassment law too vague even for CCA

By Gritsforbreakfast

At Not Guilty, criminal defense lawyer Doug Weathers informs us that the "rarest of events has occurred here in Texas": "A criminal statute has been declared unconstitutional on its face by the Court of [Criminal] Appeals."The statute is a part of the harassment statute, namely Section 42.07(a)(7) of the Texas Penal Code. The court declared, in the case of Karenev v. State, the statute is unconstitutional because it is on its face unconstitutionally vague. I will allow you the reader to read the opinion for yourself concerning the facts.Basically a criminal case was brought in Denton County under the specific part of the harassment statute that concerned "repeated electronic communications" that arose out of a divorce situation. The defendant was convicted and appealed on the issues of factual sufficiency of the evidence, the jury charge and the constitutionality of the statute...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on May 04, 2008 (boomark / email).