Legal Opinion
People v. Rodriguez
Criminal Court of the City of New York
Decided April 4, 2008PublishedCited by 4 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT
Michael Gerstein, J.
The question in this case is whether an 18-year-old defendant who, perhaps inartfully, expresses his love for the 14-year-old complainant — in person and through the social networking Web site MySpace — can be charged with aggravated harassment when his love goes unrequited. We hold that unrequited teenage love is not a crime, and is not elevated to a crime by the disapproval, and even annoyance, of the object of the erstwhile lover’s ■ affections, or by that of her father.
Legal and Factual Background
In order to be sufficient on its face, an accusatory…
2Cases cited19 opinions
- Chaplinsky v. New HampshireSupreme Court of the United States · 1942
- Texas v. JohnsonSupreme Court of the United States · 1989
- People v. DumasNew York Court of Appeals · 1986
- People v. DietzeNew York Court of Appeals · 1989
- People v. SmithNew York Supreme Court · 1977
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3Cited by4 opinions
- People v. CoveneyAppellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York · 2015
- Barboza v. D'AgataDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 2015
- People v. ThompsonCriminal Court of the City of New York · 2010
- People v. EvansCriminal Court of the City of New York · 2008