State of New Jersey v. William Burkert, Defendant-Respondent

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the Appellate Division’s dismissal of the harassment convictions, holding that N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4(c) cannot be applied to pure speech that merely annoys; the statute must be limited to repeated communications that put a person in fear for safety or invade a reasonable expectation of privacy. The Court also clarified the statutory construction required for future cases.