Harassment Lawyers Philadelphia

Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2709, harassment is conduct done with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another - striking or shoving without injury, following someone, or a course of repeated communications or acts serving no legitimate purpose. Physical harassment is a summary offense; the communication-based forms are third-degree misdemeanors.

Yes. Repeated communications, communications at extremely inconvenient hours, and lewd or threatening messages are all covered, including anonymous ones. The Commonwealth must still prove intent to harass rather than a legitimate purpose - and ongoing disputes over children, money, or property routinely supply that legitimate purpose.

Summary harassment carries up to 90 days and a $300 fine; the misdemeanor communication offenses carry up to one year. In practice, sentences are fines and probation - but the conviction itself, particularly in a domestic context, carries consequences for employment, custody proceedings, and any later charged offense.

Harassment is a criminal charge requiring proof of the statutory elements. A PFA violation is contempt of an existing court order and requires only proof that the order was knowingly violated - a much lower bar. The same conduct can be prosecuted as both, and when a PFA exists, the contempt route is usually the faster one.

Readily. Neighbor and co-worker harassment cases are typically cross-complaint situations where both sides have engaged, the course of conduct is disputed, and legitimate purposes - property lines, noise complaints, shared spaces - explain the contacts. Magistrates see these dynamics constantly, and balanced evidence usually produces dismissals or mutual withdrawals.