Me and my ex wife are in divorce. I have friend (girl) who lives on
the same block as my ex wife. I like the girl and she likes me (at
least seems like it;) but 2 of the last 3 times I go there ex wife
calls police to complain I'm stalking on her. I got pulled over and
after the policemen checked what I say is true (they had to talk to
the girl I go out with) they let me go but they say I will be arrested
if I go there again.
My question is where is the limit of how near/far I have to be? Can I
get arrested for being 2 or 3 blocks away? Is there any way to protect
my rights against my ex wife?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 17 Jun 2005 05:50 PDT

petrowi-ga,

Wow...bad choice of locations for the new girlfriend!

I'm no expert in these matters, but my understanding of the situation is this:


It isn't really the job of the police to decide on the truth (or
falsehood) of your ex's complaints.  If she says you're stalking --
and she says it enough times, with enough conviction -- then the
police will likely follow through on their promise to arrest you.  It
then becomes a matter for a court to decide if, in fact, there was any
merit to your ex-wife's complaint.

It's a lousy situation to be in, for all of you, no doubt.  

If I'm right, and this is indeed the case (and please note the
disclaimer at the bottom of the page -- we don't do legal advice
here!), then what would you like in the way of an answer to your
question?

You might want to consult a lawyer, locally.  Perhaps we can recommend
one you can talk to (though they would likely charge you for the
privilege, of course).

If not that, then how else can we be of service?

pafalafa-ga

Dear  petrowi-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. In one
of the comments the statement was made that, ?It isn't really the job
of the police to decide on the truth (or falsehood) of your ex's
complaints.? This couldn?t be farther from the truth; in fact,
professional law enforcement officers have a mandate and are trained
to determine if complaints are founded by probable cause, reasonable
suspicion or are unfounded and just plain nonsense. If the police
acted on every complaint simply because the complaint is made
repeatedly, there would be hundreds if not thousands of criminal cases
in virtually every jurisdiction that would tie up court resources for
years.

Having spent more than 20 years in law enforcement myself I personally
know of dozens of individuals who literally make 911 calls and file
criminal complaints their primary purpose in life ? to them it?s an
entertaining hobby or in some cases a sick or vengeful obsession. Yes,
law enforcement agencies in most states ARE required to go and
investigate each and every complaint where stalking or domestic
violence is alleged, but that requirement is NOT a mandate to arrest
the alleged suspect and put the matter in a criminal court.

Unfortunately there are a lot of women (and men) who suffer from
stalking and domestic violence but there is also an element of the
population who are vindictive or perhaps even a little nutty. The
truth is, if a person makes enough unfounded 911 calls or false
complaints, THE COMPLAINANT sometimes goes to jail for causing undue
alarm where no emergency exists.

You definitely need to read this article. Here is an excerpt:

?Wisconsin?s Stalking law, Wis. Stat. 940.32, has changed twice since
July, 2002. The law in effect at the time of the stalking will apply.
The changes took place on July 30, 2002 and April 27, 2004.?

WISCONSIN COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT
?Wisconsin Stalking and Harassment Laws?
http://www.wcasa.org/resources/factsheets/wistalk.html

What you are doing does NOT appear to fit the criteria from criminal
charges of stalking under Wisconsin?s current stalking statute. A
distance of two or three blocks (assuming this is the closest you come
to your ex?s house) is well beyond the reasonable distance most courts
set in their protection orders (if one has even been issued). If you
pass in front of the ex?s house on your way to girlfriend?s house,
well, that?s just a bad plan and you should modify your patch so that
you don?t do that again. I suggest you arrive by way of an alternate
road or have your girlfriend pick you up in her car or even meet you
somewhere else altogether.

Wis. Stat. sec. 947.013 (Criminal Harassment) doesn?t seem to apply
here either because harassment is defined as act where a person
engages in a course of conduct or certain acts AGAINST a victim. In
other words, harassment occurs whenever a person has an INTENT to
?harass or intimidate? the victim. Where there?s no intent and no act
?against? anyone, there appears to be no basis for criminal charges.

Now, CAN you be arrested even if you did not commit a crime? Sure. It
happens all the time. It doesn't mean you'll be convicted nor does it
mean that you arrest was even legal, but nevertheless, you CAN be put
in jail for just about anything - innocent people are put in jail
because of jealous ex's (and other reasons of course) every day. Your
best bet it to avoid the proximity of your ex?s house (and the police
who are apparently reaching the limitations of their patience
responding to her complaints) and everyone will be happy (or at least
?happier? than you would be if you were unnecessarily jailed).

I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

WISCONSIN STALKING & HARASSMENT LAWS
http://www.uww.edu/stdRsces/SART/Stalking.htm

940.32 STALKING
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0940.pdf
(See statute on page 13)

947.013 CRIMINAL HARASSMENT
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0947.pdf
(See statute on page 2)


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

STALKING

HARASSMENT

WISCONSIN

LAW

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Request for Answer Clarification by petrowi-ga on 17 Jun 2005 10:35 PDT

I am pleased with the high quality answer you give. My question also
was about protecting my own rughts - is there anything I can do not to
get arrested at all because I'm sure she'd call 911 even if I were 2
blocks away. Anyway - your answer is completely accepted an this
clarification I ask for will not affect the fact you have done your
job - answered or not. thank you.

---

Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 17 Jun 2005 10:59 PDT

You might consider getting the upper hand and taking your ex to court.
You can sue (or counter-sue) civilly for an order of protection or an
injunction against her to stop filing these frivolous reports and and
false complaints against you.

You can go to the Clerk's Office at the courthouse in your community
and fill out the petition forms and obtain a date for which you will
be able to tell a judge how you are being emotionally harmed by this
woman's actions and how she is abusing the taxpayers dollars and
interfering with government operations by repeatedly lodging false
complaints against you. If the judge finds in your favor you will be
given a copy of the order to carry with you at all times and a copy to
file with the police. If there is a complaint you will have proof that
you went to court and that she is filing false reports - in a sense,
proof that YOU are the real victim and not the bad guy here. You'r ex
will also be notified of the order and instructed to cease her
harassment. If she fails to do so she could theoretically be jailed
for failure to comlpy with a court order (aka Contempt of Court).

Restraining Orders, Protection Orders, Domestic Violence Injunctions
http://www.aardvarc.org/dv/orders.shtml
(scroll down for the article)

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 17 Jun 2005 11:00 PDT

Keep in mind, as mentioned by our disclaimer, that the information
here is not intended to replace or serve as legal advice. For best
results you should consult an attorney.

tutuzdad-ga

Thank you for your time! I greatly appreciate the excellent and
supported by legal sites answer.

They don't really have ground to arrest you absent a restraining order
stating you cannot be on that block.  I am not a lawyer, but I suggest
you contact one.

policemen told me if I keep on going there and if they keep on
recieving disturbance calls they will arrest me.

do they have the right to arrest me just because of the number of DCs
they recieve? Or they have to check my story every time and they can
only arrest me if I fail to prove it?

If you feel that you are being persecuted unfairly, you might want to
consider filing a police complaint against your ex.  (If you just
don't want to deal, have the girl come to your place.)

The problem is this, you are envolved in a divorce, your soon to be ex
is upset with you. The stalking ordinace is probaly vague as to what
is stalking, you go and see your grilfriend as same block as your ex,
she calls police saying your are stalking her, the police come find
you on the block, you claim you are just seeing your new girl friend
but she lives on same block and has called in a complaint and the
police find you on same block you are going to get your self in
trouble which will not look so hot infront of the family law judge
handling your case. Also look from the police point of view, how many
times in the paper, just happen in conn. where a women calls the
police on her ex boyfriend or husband stalking her then bam next week
she is dead, please do assume I am talking about you just trying to
give you the point of view of the police, I would suggest not showing
up on the block, yes you can file a complaint against her but if she
lives on the block and you do not live on that block even if you are
going to see a friend is not the best

You already have pending divorce litigation. Rather than trying to
start a new lawsuit based upon a cause of action that probably doesn't
exist (the "my wife thinks I'm stalking her, and the police told me to
stay away from her" claim probably won't score you an injunction), you
would likely be better served by working within the context of your
divorce litigation to reduce the tension, and by following the advice
otherwise outlined about staying away from your ex's residence.

If you are not represented by counsel in the divorce, you may find
that you are confronting accusations of this "stalking" behavior
within the context of your divorce proceedings - and it would be a
good idea to consult a local family lawyer about your situation. If
you are represented, these are issues you should be discussing with
your attorney.