ANTI-STALKING LAW STILL STANDS AFTER RICHMOND RULING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 14, 1993                   TAG: 9304140279
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANASSAS                                LENGTH: Medium
ANTI-STALKING LAW STILL STANDS AFTER RICHMOND RULING
The state's anti-stalking law remains in effect after it was mistakenly believed that a Richmond judge struck it down when he questioned the law's validity.
General District Judge Ralph B. Robertson heard the case of a 27-year-old Richmond man accused of stalking a female University of Richmond student.
"As of right now, the law has not been declared unconstitutional," said state Sen. Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, author of the law.
Robertson said the law was too broad and gave police latitude to charge citizens exercising their constitutional rights.
David A. Parsons, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said the next step will depend on Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Joseph D. Morrissey.
Morrissey said the judge threw out the charge and said the law was unconstitutional because it was too vague.
However, his ruling applies only to General District Court.
Morrissey said he plans to indict the defendant in Circuit Court to avoid charging him with the same crime again in the same court.
"We believe that the General Assembly passed a statute that was very exact," he said.
The judge's action "created quite a stir when it first happened because it was unclear what had happened," Parsons said.
"We were surprised because there have been a number of successful prosecutions under the statute across the state," Parsons said. "We know it's being used, and we have reason to believe people are becoming more comfortable with it."
Under the law, stalking is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
For a second conviction, the maximum penalty is a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
A third offense within five years is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine.
In most cases, a first-time offender gets probation.
Virginia was the second state in the nation, after California, to pass an anti-stalking law.
Since then, at least 30 other states have enacted the law and Congress is considering a federal statute.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB