14
Further, as the statute requires both malicious intent on
behalf of the perpetrator and substantial harm to the victim,
"it is difficult to imagine what constitutionally-protected
speech would fall under these statutory prohibitions."
citing Petrovic, 701 F.3d at 856.
Id.,
Contrary to William's claim,
the statutory elements such as "seriously alarms" "are not
esoteric or complicated terms devoid of common understanding."
Osinger, supra at 945.
Rather, these elements are similar to
those that have led courts in other jurisdictions to uphold
their criminal harassment statutes as constitutionally
permissible.
See, e.g., State v. Brown, 207 Ariz. 231 (Ariz.
Ct. App. 2004); Bouters v. State, 659 So. 2d 235 (Fla.), cert.
denied, 516 U.S. 894 (1995).
Together the component parts of the statute provide
adequate notice and safeguards to prevent its application to
protected speech.
Contrary to William's claim that the statute
leaves it to the hearer of the speech to determine what conduct
is criminal, the Commonwealth must prove that a defendant knew
he or she was engaged in a pattern of conduct that intentionally
targeted a victim for the purpose of harassment with acts of
such a nature that they would cause a reasonable person to
suffer substantial emotional distress.
This scienter
requirement undermines William's claim that he could be liable
under § 43A (a) if his actions were accidental and that putative
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