Article: HARASSMENT STATUTE VOIDED FREE-SPEECH DECISION BY APPEALS COURT HAILED.(Local)

Byline: Staff and wire reports

The New York Civil Liberties Union applauded a decision by the state Court of Appeals that declared unconstitutional a state harassment statute used to convict a woman who threatened to beat up her neighbor.

"The Court of Appeals sent a clear message that in New York state people cannot be prosecuted for mere speech," said Donna Lieberman, associate director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Lieberman said the Court of Appeals recognizes that a portion of the harassment statute lent itself to abuse and prosecution for protected activities.

The free-speech decision on Tuesday came in a case involving a ...

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