A Brief Encounter Outside the Courthouse — Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking Charge, 'Acquittal'

Case Overview

The defendant had been sued for Emotional Distress by the woman with whom her former husband had had an affair, and during proceedings related to enforcing the civil judgment, she happened to encounter the victim in the courthouse parking lot. The Prosecution indicted her for violating the Stalking Punishment Act on the grounds that she honked her horn and followed the victim's car for a short distance. The fact that the defendant had previously contacted the victim was also raised, but that incident was some eight months earlier, and the encounter in this case was a single, isolated contact lasting only about seven minutes.

Our Strategy

From the outset the defendant protested her innocence, and I focused on establishing a precise timeline and the circumstances of the encounter. In particular, the defendant's conduct in this case occurred on a single occasion and was over within seven minutes, and the previous contact had taken place a full eight months earlier, so as a matter of law I judged that the elements of 'stalking' were not met. On that basis, I argued for acquittal, stressing that turning a 'chance encounter' into criminal punishment would be an interpretation contrary to the purpose of the law. The court accepted my argument and acquitted the defendant, pointing to the danger of over-interpreting a single isolated act. This case served as a reminder of how easily a simple conflict can escalate into a criminal case, and of the need for vigilance against complaints that border on false accusation. I will continue to speak clearly in court on behalf of wrongly accused clients.

Result · Acquittal

This is the result of an individual case and does not guarantee a similar outcome. Some facts have been generalized and personal information redacted to protect the client.

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Attorney in charge: Dongwoo Shin