Stalking and Cyberstalking Defense in Miami

Many people learn about the accusation when they are served with a stalking injunction, before any criminal charge is filed. What you do next, at the injunction hearing and with your phone, can shape both cases.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Key Definitions in Florida's Stalking Law

The stalking statute turns on a few defined terms:

• Harass: to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress to that person and serves no legitimate purpose.
• Course of conduct: a pattern of conduct made up of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, showing a continuity of purpose. It does not include constitutionally protected activity such as picketing or other organized protests.
• Credible threat: a verbal or nonverbal threat, or both, including threats sent electronically or implied by a pattern of conduct, that places the target in reasonable fear for his or her safety or the safety of family members or people closely associated with the target, made with the apparent ability to carry it out. The State does not have to prove the person intended to carry out the threat, and being in jail at the time is not a bar to prosecution.
• Cyberstalk: either (1) a course of conduct communicating words, images, or language by email or electronic communication, directly or indirectly, directed at or about a specific person; or (2) accessing, or trying to access, another person's online accounts or internet-connected home electronic systems without permission. Either way, it must cause substantial emotional distress and serve no legitimate purpose.

A 2021 law, effective October 1, 2021, widened the first part of the cyberstalking definition to cover communications sent "directly or indirectly" and communications "pertaining to" a person, not only those directed at the person. The second part, covering online accounts and internet-connected home systems, was already in the law before 2021.

Stalking Charges and Penalties

Other important points in the statute:

• Arrest without a warrant. A police officer may arrest without a warrant anyone the officer has probable cause to believe committed stalking.
• Long no-contact orders at sentencing. The sentencing court must consider ordering no contact with the victim, valid for up to 10 years, whether the sentence is prison, jail, or probation.
• A court order can raise the charge. Because the statute also covers "any other court-imposed prohibition of conduct" toward the person, knowingly, willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly following, harassing, or cyberstalking the person after a court has ordered no contact can be charged as felony aggravated stalking.

GPS Trackers and Tracking Apps

Florida's stalking statute itself does not mention tracking devices. Secretly tracking someone is charged under a separate law:

• Knowingly installing or placing a tracking device or tracking app on another person's property without consent, or using one to find out the location or movement of another person or their property without consent, is a third-degree felony.
• Doing it to commit, or to help commit, a crime on Florida's "dangerous crime" list is a second-degree felony.
• Consent is presumed revoked once one spouse files for divorce, or once either person files for an injunction for protection against the other.
• The law has exceptions, including for law enforcement, court-ordered tracking, certain parents tracking a minor child, and owners or lessees of a vehicle tracking that vehicle, subject to conditions.

What changed: before October 1, 2024, this law covered only installing a tracking device or app, and it was a second-degree misdemeanor. A 2024 law, effective October 1, 2024, added placing and using a device or app to track someone without consent, made the offense a third-degree felony, and revised the exceptions. A 2025 law, effective October 1, 2025, created the second-degree felony for tracking connected to a dangerous crime. Conduct before each date falls under the older law, because Florida's Constitution bars ex post facto laws. Tracking charges often show up alongside stalking charges in the same case.

Arrest, Bond, and First Appearance

Stalking and aggravated stalking are both on Florida's list of "dangerous crimes" for pretrial release. That means the law's presumption in favor of release without money bond does not apply, and a person arrested for a dangerous crime may not be granted nonmonetary release at first appearance if the court finds probable cause.

If the people involved are family or household members, stalking is a domestic-violence offense under Florida law, and the domestic-violence rules apply, including being held in custody until brought before a judge. Judges in these cases commonly order no contact. See Domestic Violence Defense and Bond & Nebbia Hearings. If there is a warrant, we can often arrange a surrender. See Turning Yourself In.

Stalking Injunctions: The Civil Case

Separately from any criminal case, a person can go to civil court for an injunction for protection against stalking, which includes cyberstalking. Florida law makes these easy to request:

• Who can file: a victim of stalking, or a parent or guardian on behalf of a minor child living at home. The person filing doesn't need a lawyer, and there is no filing fee.
• Where: in the circuit where the petitioner lives, where the respondent lives, or where the stalking happened.
• Sworn petition: the petition must state specific facts and is signed under penalty of perjury.
• Temporary injunction without you there. If it appears to the court that stalking exists, the judge can issue a temporary injunction ex parte, without you present, lasting up to 15 days, until a full hearing. If the hearing is continued, the injunction is extended so it stays in effect.
• Personal service. You must be personally served with the petition, the notice of hearing, and any temporary injunction before the hearing.
• The full hearing. At the hearing, the judge decides whether the petitioner is a victim of stalking. If the judge grants a final injunction, it can restrain you from any act of stalking, order you to attend treatment or counseling at your expense, and include other terms the judge finds necessary.
• No set end date. A final stalking injunction stays in effect until it is modified or dissolved. Either side can ask the court to modify or dissolve it at any time.
• No mutual orders. The court cannot issue a mutual order covering both sides, though each person can seek a separate injunction.
• Firearms. A final stalking injunction must state on its face that it is a first-degree misdemeanor for you to have any firearm or ammunition in your care, custody, possession, or control while it is in effect.

Why the injunction hearing matters: what you say and file there is recorded and can be used in a criminal case. A final injunction also restricts where you can go, who you can contact, and whether you can have a gun. If you are not a U.S. citizen, read the immigration section below. Treat the hearing as seriously as a criminal case.

Recent changes: in 2022 and 2024 the Legislature revised how stalking injunctions are transmitted electronically and served (effective October 1, 2022) and the sworn-verification language in the petition (effective July 1, 2024), and in 2024 it added the Hope Card program for petitioners (effective October 1, 2024). None of those changes altered what stalking is.

Violating a Stalking Injunction

Willfully violating a stalking injunction is a first-degree misdemeanor. Violations listed in the law include:

• Going to, or being within 500 feet of, the petitioner's home, school, workplace, or a specified place the petitioner regularly goes;
• Telephoning, contacting, or otherwise communicating with the petitioner, directly or indirectly, unless the injunction allows indirect contact through a third party;
• Knowingly and intentionally coming within 100 feet of the petitioner's vehicle;
• Committing an act of stalking; committing an intentional unlawful threat, word, or act to do violence to the petitioner; defacing or destroying the petitioner's personal property, including a vehicle; or refusing to surrender firearms or ammunition when ordered.

A person with two or more prior convictions for violating an injunction who violates one again against the same victim commits a third-degree felony. A violation can also be enforced through civil or criminal contempt, and a person arrested for violating the injunction is held in custody until brought before the court. Repeated conduct after an injunction can also be charged as felony aggravated stalking, as explained above.

Important: the injunction binds you, not the petitioner. Even if the petitioner calls, texts, or shows up, responding can be charged as a violation. Talk to your lawyer before you respond to anything.

For domestic-violence injunctions between family or household members, see Domestic Violence Defense.

Immigration Consequences

For non-citizens, stalking is one of the most dangerous charges to plead to. Under federal immigration law, a person convicted of a crime of stalking at any time after admission is deportable. Separately, a court's finding that a person violated certain parts of certain protection orders is also a listed ground of deportability, even without a criminal conviction. Whether a particular order counts is something to review with an immigration attorney.

That means both the criminal case and the injunction case need to be handled with immigration in mind from day one. See Immigration Consequences of Criminal Charges.

How We Defend Stalking Cases

• No "course of conduct." The law requires a pattern of acts showing a continuity of purpose. A single incident, or unrelated contacts, may not fit.
• A legitimate purpose. Contact about children, shared property, money, work, or a legal matter may serve a legitimate purpose.
• No substantial emotional distress. The State has to prove the conduct caused substantial emotional distress, not just annoyance.
• No credible threat. For aggravated stalking based on a threat, what was actually said, in what context, and whether the fear was reasonable all matter.
• Who sent it? In cyberstalking cases, fake accounts, spoofed numbers, shared devices, and hacked accounts are common. Proving who was behind an account takes more than a screenshot.
• The whole conversation. Screenshots often leave out the other side's messages. The full thread can tell a very different story.
• Protected activity. Constitutionally protected activity, like picketing or organized protest, is excluded from the definition of course of conduct.

What to Do If You're Accused or Served

1. Stop all contact with the other person, in every form, starting now. That includes likes, comments, tags, and messages through friends.
2. Don't post about the person or the case on social media.
3. Don't delete anything. Your full message history may be your best evidence, and destroying evidence once you know about an investigation can be a separate crime.
4. Follow the injunction exactly, even if you think it is unfair and even if the other person reaches out.
5. Don't talk to police about the accusation without a lawyer.
6. Call us before the injunction hearing so we can prepare, gather the full record, and protect you in any criminal case.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

You can read about some of our past cases on our Results page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is stalking a felony in Florida?

Simple stalking is a first-degree misdemeanor. It becomes aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony, when there is a credible threat, when it happens after an injunction or other court order, when the person is a child under 16, or after certain sex-offense sentences.

What is cyberstalking?

A course of electronic communications directed at or about a specific person, or accessing someone's online accounts or internet-connected home systems without permission, that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose.

I was served with a stalking injunction. Do I need a lawyer?

The law doesn't require one, but what you say at the hearing can be used in a criminal case, and a final injunction affects your gun rights. Non-citizens should also read the immigration section above. It is worth having a lawyer at that hearing.

How long does a stalking injunction last?

A final stalking injunction stays in effect until the court modifies or dissolves it. Either side can ask the court to do that at any time.

The other person keeps contacting me. Can I answer?

Be very careful. The injunction restricts you, not them. Responding can be charged as a violation. Talk to your lawyer first.

Can a stalking charge get me deported?

It can. A conviction for a crime of stalking is a ground of deportability. Violating certain protection orders is a separate listed ground. Talk to us before you plead to anything or agree to an injunction.

How fast can you help?

Our office answers 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.