New York Penal Law 240.30(1) Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree Example Case

New York Penal Law 240.30(1) provides: (a) communicates with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, by telegraph, or by mail, or by transmitting or delivering any other form of written communication in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm; or (b) causes a communication to be initiated by mechanical or electronic means or otherwise with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, by telegraph, or by mail, or by transmitting or delivering any other form of written communication in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm. In People v. Mangano (100 NY2d 569, 796 NE2d 470, 764 NYS2d 379 [2003]), the Court recognized that this statute was unconstitutional, as it was applied to the defendant. In that case, the defendant left several messages in which the defendant "rained invective" upon two employees at a parking violations bureau. The court stated: "defendant's messages were crude and offensive but made in the context of complaining about government actions, on a telephone answering machine set up for the purpose (among others) of receiving complaints from the public. We cannot agree with the People's argument that appellant's messages fall within any of the proscribable classes of speech or conduct." (Id. at 571.)