What is the Law on Telephone Harassment in Merriam Municipal Court?
If it is alleged that you violated a city law in Merriam you are going to end up in Merriam Municipal Court. Each city in Kansas that his a municipal court has a set of laws that apply to the people located within it's city limits. These laws are known as ordinances and the entire collection of those laws together are called the city code. There are hundreds of laws that make up the city code. It can be cumbersome and difficult to author and pass each individual law, so some cities will adopt a prewritten set of laws. The Kansas Uniform Code for Municipalities is an extensive body of code that is available for cities to adopt. Merriam has adopted this code and with a few modifications uses it as the law for the city of Merriam. This is the city law prohibiting Telephone Harassment in Merriam Municipal Court.
Sec. 9.10. Harassment by Telecommunications Device
(a) Harassment by telecommunication device is the use of:
(1) A telecommunications device to:
(A) Knowingly make or transmit any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or text which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, or indecent;
(B) Make or transmit a call, whether or not conversation ensues, with intent to abuse, threaten or harass a person at the receiving end;
(C) Make or transmit any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or text with intent to abuse, threaten or harass any person at the receiving end;
(D) Make or cause a telecommunications device to repeatedly ring or activate with intent to harass any person at the receiving end;
(E) Knowingly play any recording on a telephone, except recordings such as weather information or sports information when the number thereof is dialed, unless the person or group playing the recording shall be identified and state that it is a recording; or
(F) Knowingly permit any telecommunications device under one’s control to be used in violation of this paragraph.
(2) Telefacsimile communication to send or transmit such communication to a court in the State of Kansas for a use other than court business, with no requirement of culpable mental state.
(b) An offender who violates the provisions of this section may also be prosecuted for, convicted of, and punished for any other offense in sections 11.1 and 11.2.
(c) Harassment by a telecommunication device is a Class A violation. (K.S.A. 21-6206)
Possible Punishment
*Class A Violations are punishable by up to 365 days in the Johnson County Jail, however, most Class A Violations are eligible for probation
You've been charged with Telephone Harassment in Merriam Municipal Court, now what do you do?
First off, you're already doing what you should be, researching the law. Anytime you face an unknown problem it is always a good decision to start educating yourself on the problem before you act. Being charged with a crime is no different than any other problem, you need to educate yourself to work your way through it. The problem with the telephone harassment law is it doesn't address any fact scenarios, it only give you the minimum when it comes to answering, "If i did this...is it against the law?" Reading the law often presents more questions than answers, however it is the logical place to start. Once you have read the law it's best to review the commonly asked questions when it comes to telephone harassment. Build on the questions and answers of others to gain more knowledge on the subject. Lastly, after you've gained all the knowledge you can by reading it's time to sit down with a lawyer. Knowing the law is one thing but knowing the people and personalities of the court is just as valuable. Meeting with a lawyer with experience in Merriam Municipal court is perhaps your most valuable resource. Ask your lawyer about how the court generally handles these types of cases and what your possible defenses may be.