New Jersey Section 2C:40-16 – Definitions

New Jersey’s Section 2C:40-16 of the criminal code covers some key definitions relating to bias intimidation crimes and civil rights violations. This part of the legal code defines important terms like “bias intimidation” and outlines what constitutes offenses like desecration of venerated objects, harassment, stalking, and more.

Let’s break down the key definitions in this section so people understand what they mean if you ever face charges or accusations related to bias crimes or civil rights issues in New Jersey:

What is “bias intimidation”?

The legal definition of “bias intimidation” covers any crime done to intimidate or harass someone because of their race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity. So if you threaten, harass, or commit a crime against someone and it seems motivated by bias against them because of their race, religion, etc., then you could face charges for bias intimidation in addition to the underlying offense.

Some examples would be:

• Yelling racial slurs at someone while assaulting or attacking them. The assault charges could be enhanced by bias intimidation charges.
• Vandalizing a religious building or symbol. The vandalism could be enhanced by bias intimidation if the motive was to intimidate or harass that religious group.
• Making harassing or threatening phone calls to someone and making remarks about their gender identity or sexual orientation during the calls. The harassment charges could be enhanced by bias intimidation.

So anytime a crime or act seems designed to intimidate or harass someone because of their membership in a protected class, bias intimidation charges can come into play.

What is “desecration of venerated objects”?

This refers to purposely damaging or destroying any object that is considered sacred or venerated by a group of people. The group itself gets to determine what objects they consider sacred.

For instance, a cross or bible would be considered sacred and venerated by Christians. Causing damage to those items could lead to charges for desecration of venerated objects if the motive was to harass or intimidate Christians.

Likewise, a menorah, torah, or other Jewish religious symbols would be considered venerated objects for Jewish people. Damaging those items could also lead to charges if done to harass or intimidate Jews.

This applies to any religious group and any objects they consider sacred. Damaging, destroying or defacing them purposely to intimidate or harass practitioners of that religion is illegal.

What constitutes “harassment” under this law?

The legal definition of harassment includes any behaviors done with the purpose to alarm, seriously annoy, or put someone in reasonable fear for their safety. It also includes any repeated, unwanted communications done for the purpose of alarming or annoying someone.

Some examples of harassment would include:

• Repeatedly following or spying on someone, causing them to fear for their safety.
• Making repeated unwanted phone calls to someone’s home or cell phone.
• Sending unwanted, alarming emails, texts or social media messages.
• Posting embarrassing photos of someone online without consent.
• Showing up uninvited to someone’s home or workplace to alarm or annoy them.

So any repeated behaviors that serve no legitimate purpose beyond alarming, annoying or intimidating someone could potentially be charged as harassment.

What is considered “stalking” under the law?

Stalking builds upon the definition of harassment. It involves a course of conduct directed at a specific person involving repeated, alarming, annoying behaviors or unwanted communications that would cause emotional distress or fear in a reasonable person.

For instance, repeatedly following someone, constantly calling them and hanging up, sending threatening emails, showing up at their home or work, spying on them, posting about them online, or contacting their family/friends against their wishes could potentially be considered stalking.

The key is that the behaviors are repeated, unwanted, and would cause a reasonable person to feel alarmed, annoyed, intimidated or fearful for their safety. Doing these things once may not rise to the level of stalking, but a pattern of such behaviors very well could.

What constitutes a “course of conduct”?

A “course of conduct” refers to repeatedly committing acts over a period of time with the intention of alarming, annoying, intimidating or threatening someone. There is no strict minimum number of acts required, but typically more than one act would need to occur to show an ongoing course of conduct.

For instance, sending a threatening letter to someone one time would likely not be considered a course of conduct on its own. But sending multiple threatening letters over the span of weeks or months could potentially qualify as a course of conduct, showing an ongoing pattern of behavior.

The acts do not necessarily need to be the exact same repeated behavior either. A combination of things like unwanted calls, messages, gifts, threats, etc. could form a course of conduct if done repeatedly to alarm or intimidate someone.

What is a “communicating in manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm”?

This refers to communicating with someone, either directly or indirectly, in a way that is likely to harass, annoy, intimidate, or provoke fear. The communication can be done in any form such as in-person, over the phone, via email/text/social media, through a third party, etc.

Some examples that would likely cause annoyance or alarm could include:

• Repeatedly contacting someone who has said they do not wish to be contacted.
• Using threatening, abusive or obscene language towards someone.
• Making false criminal accusations about someone.
• Communicating in a manner that is inconvenient to the recipient, like calling excessively late at night.
• Communicating privileged, confidential or embarrassing information about someone.
• Suggesting some form of physical harm may come to someone.
• Posting harassing comments about someone online in a public forum.

The communication does not have to be an explicit threat to cause annoyance or alarm. Any form of communication that harasses, intimidates, annoys, or provokes fear could potentially fall under this definition.

What constitutes “emotional distress”?

The legal definition of emotional distress refers to significant mental suffering and anguish that goes beyond just minor annoyance or hurt feelings. Signs of emotional distress can include anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, inability to focus, fearfulness, panic attacks, and other mental health issues.

To qualify as emotional distress, the mental suffering must be so serious that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it. Normal aggravation people experience in everyday life would not meet the criteria. There needs to be evidence of severe mental suffering caused specifically by the defendant’s actions.

Experts like psychologists can often provide documentation or testimony to validate claims of emotional distress. But outward signs like impacts to someone’s work performance, relationships and overall well-being can also demonstrate serious emotional distress.

Are there any defenses to bias intimidation or civil rights charges?

There are some potential defenses that can be raised against accusations of bias crimes or civil rights violations:

• Lack of evidence – If there is little or no evidence that the accused committed the acts in question, it weakens the case against them.
• Misidentification – Mistaken identity where the wrong person was charged for acts committed by someone else.
• No unlawful intent – The actions were taken without any intent to harass, intimidate, provoke reasonable fear, etc.
• Justified by circumstances – There were legitimate, legal reasons for the actions that had nothing to do with unlawful bias or discrimination.
• First Amendment – For speech-related offenses, the speech in question was protected free expression under the First Amendment. However, true threats and “fighting words” are not protected speech.
• Self-defense – Any offensive actions were legally justified as self-defense against imminent harm.
• Diminished mental capacity – The accused did not fully understand the nature or consequences of their actions due to mental illness, disability, intoxication, etc.

Having experienced criminal defense attorneys argue these defenses provides the best chance of avoiding convictions and penalties for alleged bias crimes and civil rights offenses. But preventing false accusations in the first place should be everyone’s priority.

So in summary, New Jersey’s laws against bias intimidation, harassment, stalking and civil rights violations serve important purposes – but also carry serious penalties. Understanding the specific definitions in the law can help people steer clear of actions that could lead to criminal charges. Treating everyone with fairness, dignity and respect is always the wisest policy.