By
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. - Michigan's anti-stalking law is not an unconstitutionally vague threat to freedom of speech, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, ruled that Jerry Lee Staley should remain in prison, overturning a ruling in Staley's favor last year by U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen of Kalamazoo.
"A person of reasonable intelligence would know whether his conduct was violating the statute," the appeals court ruled.
Staley is serving a 15- to 25-year state prison sentence for stalking his ex-girlfriend. During his 1994 trial, Staley was accused of breaking into the victim's home, calling her up to 15 times per day, chasing her with a baseball bat and threatening to "slice her gut" with a knife.
Under Michigan's law, people may be convicted of felony stalking if they make unwanted contact with a victim two or more times and make a "credible threat" at least once.
Enslen ruled last summer that the law was so broadly written it might be used to prosecute journalists or telemarketers who pursued someone as part of their jobs.
But the 6th Circuit said Michigan's law protects legal behavior even if it does not specifically define "conduct that serves a legitimate purpose."
Staley's treatment of the woman, the court said, "falls squarely within the heartland of conduct the statute is designed to prohibit."
Yesterday's ruling ensures that at least 126 inmates will remain behind bars for stalking, said Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm.
"It is a big victory for domestic violence victims in Michigan," Granholm said.
Staley was originally sentenced to life in prison as a habitual offender based on prior convictions for attempted larceny, malicious destruction of a building and drug delivery, court files show. A state appeals court found the sentence excessive, and Staley then was sentenced to 15 to 25 years.
