New Idaho law targets stalkers

Stalking victims now have a more immediate way to get a restraining order without dealing with the criminal justice system.

A new code section in Idaho Law, I.C. § 18-7907, allows victims of stalking, malicious harassment and telephone harassment to apply for a civil order of protection.

Before the bill became active July 1, victims of stalking had to wait for police to conduct criminal investigations and for prosecutors to decide whether or not to prosecute the alleged perpetrator. The alleged victim would also have to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the stalking or malicious harassment happened.

Now, alleged victims can file their own petitions in court, with or without an attorney. The burden of proof still lies with the prosecutor.

“Individuals must have experienced a pattern of behavior that meets the current definitions of stalking, malicious or telephone harassment and must have experienced the behavior within the last 90 days,” reads a description of the new code in an article by the Idaho Coalition, a group against sexual and domestic violence.

Another change is to get a restraining order, one formerly had to be a current or former intimate partner, related by blood or marriage, or in a dating relationship with their alleged abuser.

According to Idaho Coalition’s website, only 50 percent of stalked individuals are stalked by an inmate partner, girlfriend or boyfriend or someone related by blood or marriage. Now, the other 50 percent qualify for a restraining order as well.

Katie Coker, executive director of Safe Passage, a nonprofit organization in Coeur d’Alene focused on helping victims of domestic violence, told the Hagadone News Network she is happy to the changes in the legal system.

“I think that it makes people more aware that stalking does happen and it’s very dangerous and it’s very abusive and it can be totally detrimental to a person’s life,” she said. “To have that kind of provision I think is a huge step in the right direction.”

When “Madeline Henry” found out about the new law, she wished it was in place 16 years ago when she was dealing with her own stalker.

“Madeline Henry” is a fake name made up by HNN to honor the Coeur d’Alene woman’s request to not be named, in order to protect her daughter and other family members.

In 1999, Henry was pregnant and stopped abusing drugs. The boyfriend and father of her child continued abusing drugs, which led to the couple’s breakup.

Henry saod her ex called her relentlessly.

“Sometimes he would call and not threaten anything violent, just say things like ‘you dirty whore’ and ‘you’re a bitch,’” she said.

Henry was able to get a restraining order on him, but had a hard time proving he was violating it. She would have friends stand next to her at work when she answered the phone in order to have witnesses that he was constantly calling her. But nothing was ever proven.

“Eventually a policeman told me there was nothing against the law to be mean and it’s not against the law to call somebody over and over again,” she said. "He told me, 'if you want this to stop, you’re going to have to move.’”

Henry did just that. She uprooted her life in Lewiston and moved with her daughter and father to Coeur d’Alene, where they still live. Even though she’s glad she’s here now, she remembers how hard it was to leave her job, her school and her friends behind.

It was cases like Henry’s that prompted state Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, to spearhead the new legislation. He helped a lot of people in his legal practice, mostly women, dealing with stalkers, battery and assault.

He became interested in finding a way to solve those problems through civil courts instead of the criminal justice system.

“I began investigating this issue and found law enforcement was very frustrated with the issue as well, and did not feel the justice system was in and of itself sufficient to address the issue,” Burgoyne said. “Law enforcement was in favor of the bill and how the civil process could work more quickly and more sufficiently than the criminal process could.”

Coeur d’Alene Police detective Jared Reneau said he’s glad the new legislation is in place because it allows him and his team to offer better protection to stalking, malicious harassment and telephone harassment victims.

“I’ve personally been in cases where a civil protection order was not granted to somebody where an ex-boyfriend is driving by and continually harassing them and they were not able to get a protection order,” Reneau said. “Now, under the new stance of the law, they would be able to get one and it would make it an additional crime. The protection order is just a piece of paper and it won’t have any direct effect on the victim, but it gives us more tools to prosecute [the alleged perpetrator] with additional crimes if they continue to harass their victim.”

“I would have had such a different life. I would have had legal discourse and I would have been able to stay where I was,” Henry said of the new legislation. “I think it’ll be helpful for a lot of people.”