Nashville Stalking Lawyer | Former Prosecutor Kevin Kennedy

"Nashville Criminal Defense Lawyer & Former Prosecutor Kevin Kennedy 615-205-7311. Call or text for a free consultation."

A stalking charge in Nashville can begin with conduct that the accused may not have thought of as a crime: repeated texts after a breakup, appearing at someone's home or workplace, following a person, communicating through friends, sending social-media messages, delivering objects, monitoring someone, or continuing contact after being told to stop. Tennessee law, however, defines stalking broadly and can elevate the charge to a felony when a weapon, threat, court order, prior stalking conviction, vulnerable victim, serious bodily injury, or other aggravating circumstance is involved.

Tennessee's stalking statute is unusually detailed. It defines a course of conduct, harassment, emotional distress, unconsented contact, stalking, aggravated stalking, and especially aggravated stalking. The law also expressly addresses electronic tracking devices and provides that a single instance of placing an electronic tracking device without consent on a person or the person's property can qualify as a course of conduct.

At the same time, Tennessee's statute excludes constitutionally protected activity and conduct serving a legitimate purpose from its definition of harassment. That means the defense must examine the entire context: what contacts occurred, whether they were consented to, whether the alleged victim asked for contact to stop, whether the defendant acted intentionally, whether emotional distress and fear actually occurred, and whether the conduct would produce the statutory reaction in a reasonable person.

Nashville criminal defense lawyer Kevin Kennedy is a former prosecutor who has handled thousands of criminal cases. He uses that experience to analyze texts, calls, social media, GPS and tracking allegations, surveillance, witness accounts, relationship history, orders of protection, no-contact conditions, weapon allegations, threats, and the constitutional and evidentiary issues that can determine a stalking case.

If you are facing a stalking, aggravated stalking, or especially aggravated stalking charge in Nashville or Davidson County, call or text 615-205-7311 for a free consultation.

What Is Stalking in Tennessee?

Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-315, stalking is a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested and that actually causes the alleged victim to feel one or more of those reactions.

A person commits the offense by intentionally engaging in stalking. Ordinary stalking is generally a Class A misdemeanor. Current law elevates stalking to a Class E felony when the defendant was required to be or was registered with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as a qualifying sexual offender at the time of the offense.

Because the definition contains both objective and subjective components, the State must address not only the conduct but also the reaction it would cause a reasonable person and the reaction it actually caused the alleged victim.

What Is a Course of Conduct?

Tennessee generally defines a course of conduct as a pattern composed of two or more separate, noncontinuous acts evidencing a continuity of purpose. The statute gives examples including following, monitoring, observing, surveilling, threatening, communicating with a person, or interfering with the person's property, whether directly, indirectly, through third parties, or by other methods or devices.

This requirement makes the timeline critical. The defense should identify every alleged act, when it occurred, whether the acts were truly separate, and what evidence supposedly demonstrates a continuity of purpose.

A prosecutor should not be allowed to describe a relationship lasting months or years as one vague course of conduct without identifying the actual acts relied upon.

Electronic Tracking Devices

Tennessee's stalking statute creates a significant exception to the usual two-act course-of-conduct requirement: one instance of placing an electronic tracking device, without consent, on a person or in or on that person's property can itself qualify as a course of conduct.

That can include allegations involving GPS trackers or similar devices placed on vehicles, bags, or other property. The statute excludes tracking devices installed or placed by law enforcement in a lawful criminal investigation.

The defense should examine who purchased and installed the device, who controlled the associated account, whether consent existed, whether the device was actually capable of tracking, and whether digital records reliably identify the user.

What Is Harassment Under the Stalking Statute?

For stalking purposes, Tennessee defines harassment as conduct directed toward a victim that includes, but is not limited to, repeated or continuing unconsented contact; is committed with reckless disregard for whether the victim will suffer emotional distress; and actually causes the victim emotional distress.

The statute also expressly provides that harassment does not include constitutionally protected activity or conduct serving a legitimate purpose.

This definition is distinct from Tennessee's separate criminal harassment statute. A person can face stalking and harassment charges together, but each offense has its own elements.

What Is Emotional Distress?

Tennessee defines emotional distress as significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or professional treatment or counseling.

The State therefore does not necessarily need a therapist or medical record to prove emotional distress. But the alleged victim's conduct, statements, contemporaneous messages, reports, and testimony can still be examined to determine whether the statutory requirement is actually supported.

The defense should distinguish ordinary annoyance, frustration, or relationship conflict from the significant distress contemplated by the statute.

What Is Unconsented Contact?

Unconsented contact includes contact initiated or continued without a person's consent or in disregard of the person's expressed desire that contact be avoided or discontinued.

The statute gives broad examples: following or appearing within sight of the person, approaching or confronting the person in public or private, appearing at the person's workplace or residence, entering or remaining on the person's property, telephone contact, electronic communications, and placing or delivering an object on property occupied or controlled by the person.

Consent can change over time. The defense should determine exactly when the alleged victim says consent ended and what contacts occurred after that point.

Repeated Text Messages

Text messages are common evidence in Nashville stalking cases. The State may rely on volume, timing, tone, threats, use of multiple numbers, or continued messaging after a request to stop.

The defense should obtain the entire conversation rather than isolated screenshots. A complete thread may show mutual communication, invitations to respond, changing boundaries, practical discussions about children or property, or context that alters the meaning of individual messages.

Metadata and phone records may also help establish who actually sent disputed communications.

Social Media Stalking Allegations

Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, X, and other platforms can generate stalking allegations through direct messages, repeated comments, new accounts, tags, posts, or alleged monitoring.

Account attribution matters. A username or screenshot does not automatically prove who controlled an account. Device evidence, account registration, IP records, login history, and other communications can become important.

Publicly viewing or commenting on online content can also raise constitutional and legitimate-purpose questions depending on the circumstances.

Calling From Multiple Numbers

Repeated calls after a person asks for contact to stop can support the State's theory, particularly when different numbers or blocked caller IDs are used.

But investigators should prove who controlled the numbers. Subscriber information, phone extraction, call records, applications, and device data may be necessary.

Contact Through Friends or Family

The statute expressly recognizes indirect conduct and conduct through third parties as potentially part of a course of conduct.

A message sent through a mutual friend can therefore matter. The defense should determine what the defendant actually asked the third party to do and whether the third party independently initiated contact or changed the message.

Appearing at a Home or Workplace

Appearing at someone's residence or workplace is expressly listed as a form of potential unconsented contact.

Context still matters. A person may have a legitimate reason to be at a shared workplace, apartment complex, school, child's event, business, or other location. The State must prove the overall stalking elements, not merely physical presence.

Following Someone

Following is a classic stalking allegation, but coincidence and shared routines can complicate the facts. People may live, work, shop, attend school, or socialize in the same areas.

Vehicle GPS, traffic cameras, surveillance, receipts, phone location, and witness testimony may help determine whether the accused intentionally followed the alleged victim or happened to be in the same place.

Monitoring and Surveillance

Monitoring can involve physical observation, cameras, online activity, location services, shared accounts, home-security systems, or other technology.

The defense should identify what information the defendant was legally entitled to access and whether the alleged monitoring was intentional, unauthorized, and part of the charged course of conduct.

AirTags, GPS Trackers, and Location Sharing

Modern stalking cases can involve AirTags, GPS devices, vehicle trackers, family-location applications, shared Apple or Google accounts, or other location tools.

Tennessee law specifically addresses placement of an electronic tracking device without consent. But some location sharing begins consensually between spouses, parents, relatives, or partners.

The defense should determine who activated the service, what permissions existed, when consent was revoked, who controlled the account, and whether the defendant actually accessed the location data.

Interfering With Property

Tennessee's course-of-conduct definition includes interference with a person's property. Allegations may involve moving objects, damaging property, leaving items, tampering with vehicles, or other conduct.

Property evidence should be documented through photographs, surveillance, fingerprints, DNA, repair records, and witness testimony rather than assumption.

Sending Gifts, Flowers, or Objects

Delivering an object to property owned, leased, or occupied by a person is expressly included among examples of unconsented contact.

A gift that seems benign to the sender can become evidence when it occurs after a clear demand for no contact or in the context of repeated conduct.

The defense should examine the content of any card or message, timing, prior relationship, and whether the defendant knew contact was unwanted.

Stalking After a Breakup

Many stalking cases arise from relationships that previously involved frequent consensual communication. The legal question often becomes when consensual contact turned into unconsented contact.

Complete messages can be crucial. One party may tell the other not to contact them and later restart conversation, ask for help, arrange property exchange, or discuss children.

The defense should build the chronology rather than treating the relationship as permanently consensual or permanently nonconsensual.

Domestic Relationships

Stalking can occur between spouses, former spouses, dating partners, relatives, roommates, or people who share children. Domestic context can also lead to an order of protection or no-contact bond condition.

The underlying relationship does not eliminate the stalking statute, but it can provide important context for consent, legitimate purpose, shared property, parenting communication, and credibility.

Co-Parenting and Child-Related Contact

Parents may need to communicate about children even during a contentious separation. Parenting plans, court orders, school events, exchanges, medical issues, and emergencies can create legitimate reasons for contact.

The defense should compare the alleged stalking conduct with any court-authorized communication method and determine whether messages were genuinely child-related or exceeded that purpose.

Shared Property and Shared Residences

Former partners may continue to share leases, property, vehicles, pets, bills, or belongings after a relationship ends.

Contact concerning retrieval of property or financial obligations may serve a legitimate purpose, but the manner and persistence of the contact still matter.

Written agreements and court orders can help clarify what access or communication was permitted.

Stalking vs. Harassment

Stalking under § 39-17-315 and harassment under § 39-17-308 are separate offenses. Stalking focuses on an intentional course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment that produces the statutory fear or harassment response.

The separate harassment statute covers specified communications and other conduct under its own elements.

A charging document should be analyzed count by count rather than assuming the terms are interchangeable.

Stalking vs. Domestic Assault

Domestic assault generally involves assaultive conduct between people in qualifying domestic relationships. Stalking focuses on a course of conduct and harassment.

A case may include both when prosecutors allege threats, physical violence, and repeated unwanted contact. Each charge must be independently proven.

Stalking vs. Order of Protection Violation

An order-of-protection violation focuses on knowingly violating a valid protective order under the applicable law. Aggravated stalking can also arise when a person commits stalking while prohibited from contacting the victim by an order of protection, restraining order, injunction, or other court-imposed prohibition and knowingly violates that prohibition.

The same contact can therefore create multiple legal issues. The exact terms, service, knowledge, and validity of the order should be reviewed.

Stalking vs. Criminal Trespass

Entering or remaining on another person's property can be part of alleged stalking and can also support a separate trespass charge depending on the circumstances.

Property ownership, permission, lease rights, notice, and purpose for being there should be examined.

Stalking vs. Threats

Stalking does not require a death threat in every case. Ordinary stalking can be based on the broader statutory course of conduct and harassment definition.

A credible threat to the victim or specified family members, made with intent to place the person in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury, is one statutory path to aggravated stalking.

The exact words, context, audience, and intent therefore matter greatly.

Aggravated Stalking

Aggravated stalking is a Class E felony under current Tennessee law. It requires stalking plus at least one statutory aggravating circumstance.

Those circumstances include displaying a deadly weapon in the course and furtherance of stalking; specified age differences involving a victim under eighteen or a victim sixty-five or older; a qualifying prior stalking conviction within seven years; a credible threat to the victim or specified relatives or dependents with the required intent; or knowingly violating a restraining order, order of protection, or other court-imposed contact prohibition while stalking.

The prosecution should identify exactly which aggravating theory it relies on.

Aggravated Stalking and a Deadly Weapon

Displaying a deadly weapon in the course and furtherance of stalking can elevate ordinary stalking to aggravated stalking.

The defense should determine whether a weapon was actually displayed, whether it was a deadly weapon under Tennessee law, who saw it, and whether the display occurred in furtherance of the alleged stalking.

Firearm ownership alone is not the same as displaying a weapon during stalking.

Credible Threats

A credible threat to the alleged victim, the victim's child, sibling, spouse, parent, or dependents can support aggravated stalking when made with intent to place the person in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury.

The defense should examine the exact communication rather than a paraphrase. Conditional language, sarcasm, song lyrics, jokes, political speech, or ambiguous statements may require careful contextual and constitutional analysis.

True threats and protected speech are not the same thing.

Stalking While an Order of Protection Is in Effect

A person who commits stalking while prohibited from contacting the victim by an order of protection or other court-imposed prohibition can face aggravated stalking if the statutory knowledge and violation requirements are met.

These cases can become serious quickly because a single communication may also be alleged as an order violation and as part of the stalking course of conduct.

The defense should obtain the actual order, proof of service or knowledge, permitted exceptions, and complete communication history.

Prior Stalking Convictions

A prior stalking conviction within seven years can be an aggravating circumstance under the statute.

Especially aggravated stalking can also be charged when a person commits stalking or aggravated stalking and has previously been convicted of stalking or aggravated stalking involving the same victim.

Prior judgments and victim identity should be verified rather than accepted from a criminal-history summary.

Age-Based Aggravated Stalking

Aggravated stalking can apply when the victim was under eighteen during the course of conduct and the accused was five or more years older, or when the victim was sixty-five or older.

Especially aggravated stalking contains an additional age-based provision involving an adult defendant and a victim under twelve.

Age and timing are therefore statutory elements in these theories.

Especially Aggravated Stalking

Especially aggravated stalking is a Class C felony under current Tennessee law.

It can apply when the accused commits stalking or aggravated stalking and has a prior stalking or aggravated-stalking conviction involving the same victim; when aggravated stalking intentionally or recklessly causes serious bodily injury to the victim or specified relatives or dependents; or when an adult commits stalking or aggravated stalking against a victim who was under twelve during the course of conduct.

Because this offense is a Class C felony, accurate analysis of the aggravating facts is critical.

Serious Bodily Injury

Especially aggravated stalking can be based on serious bodily injury caused intentionally or recklessly during aggravated stalking.

The defense should obtain medical records, photographs, emergency treatment records, and expert analysis where appropriate and compare the injury to Tennessee's statutory definition of serious bodily injury.

An injury can be genuine without necessarily meeting the serious-bodily-injury standard.

One Course of Conduct or Multiple Stalking Offenses?

Tennessee law specifically addresses when a continuing course of stalking conduct is broken and a new offense can begin.

Events that can break the course include an arrest and charge for stalking, aggravated stalking, or especially aggravated stalking; a court finding that an order of protection prohibiting stalking was violated; or a stalking-related conviction.

Conduct after such an event can commence a new and separate offense, making the timeline especially important in repeat-contact cases.

The Importance of Being Told to Stop

Tennessee law provides that continuing repeated unconsented contact after the alleged victim requests that it stop is prima facie evidence that the continuation caused the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.

That does not eliminate the State's overall burden, but a clear written request to stop can become important evidence.

The defense should determine exactly what was said, whether the request was unequivocal, whether later contact was invited, and what conduct occurred afterward.

Constitutionally Protected Activity

The stalking statute expressly excludes constitutionally protected activity from the definition of harassment.

Speech, protest, criticism, publication, petitioning, or other expressive conduct can raise First Amendment issues depending on the facts. Constitutional protection is not unlimited, particularly for true threats or conduct crossing into criminal harassment.

The defense should identify the precise conduct and avoid treating offensive or unwanted speech as automatically criminal.

State v. Nicole Flowers and Free-Speech Issues

In State v. Nicole Flowers, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed a stalking conviction because the evidence was insufficient. The case arose in part from signs posted about the alleged victim, and the Court had granted review to consider free-speech issues but did not need to resolve the constitutional question after finding insufficient evidence.

Flowers is a useful reminder that conduct can be upsetting or offensive without necessarily satisfying every statutory element of stalking.

The defense should analyze sufficiency first and constitutional issues where necessary.

Legitimate Purpose

Tennessee's stalking definition of harassment excludes conduct serving a legitimate purpose.

Legitimate-purpose issues can arise in co-parenting, debt collection, business dealings, property retrieval, legal process, journalism, employment, shared residences, or communications required by court orders.

The existence of a legitimate purpose does not necessarily immunize unrelated threatening or harassing conduct, but it can be central to the statutory analysis.

Objective and Subjective Fear

The stalking definition requires conduct that would cause a reasonable person to feel one of the listed reactions and that actually causes the alleged victim to feel such a reaction.

That creates both an objective and subjective inquiry. The alleged victim's testimony matters, but so can conduct inconsistent with claimed fear, depending on the circumstances.

The defense should be careful not to rely on stereotypes about how a frightened person 'should' behave. Instead, it should identify concrete evidence bearing on the statutory requirements.

What if the Alleged Victim Continued Responding?

Continued responses do not automatically defeat stalking. A person may respond out of fear, to de-escalate, to arrange property exchange, or to document contact.

But mutual, voluntary communication can be relevant to consent and to whether particular contacts were truly unwanted.

The entire thread and chronology should be examined.

What if the Alleged Victim Contacted the Defendant First?

Victim-initiated contact can be relevant but does not automatically cancel a court order or make every later contact consensual.

If a no-contact order exists, the defendant must obey it even if the alleged victim initiates communication unless the court changes the order.

Without an order, repeated cycles of mutual contact can complicate the factual question of consent and should be documented carefully.

False or Exaggerated Stalking Accusations

Stalking accusations can arise during breakups, custody disputes, workplace conflicts, neighborhood disputes, or other emotionally charged situations.

A defense based on fabrication or exaggeration should be supported by evidence: complete messages, surveillance, phone records, witnesses, location data, court filings, or proof of mutual contact.

Deleting communications can destroy the very evidence needed to establish context.

Mistaken Identity and Fake Accounts

Online stalking can involve fake profiles, spoofed numbers, anonymous emails, or accounts created in another person's name.

Investigators should connect the account to the accused through reliable digital evidence rather than assume identity from a display name or allegation.

IP records, device forensics, recovery accounts, subscriber information, and login data may be important.

Phone and Digital Forensics

A phone extraction may reveal messages, deleted communications, location data, account credentials, photographs, browser history, and application activity.

The defense should review the search warrant and forensic report and determine whether the State can attribute the relevant activity to the defendant.

Cloud synchronization and shared accounts can complicate attribution.

Search Warrants

Stalking investigations may involve warrants for phones, homes, vehicles, social-media accounts, email, tracking devices, firearms, and location data.

The defense should examine probable cause, nexus, particularity, scope, and execution. Evidence obtained through an unconstitutional search may be subject to suppression.

Location Data

Phone, vehicle, application, or tracking-device data may be used to show that the accused repeatedly appeared near the alleged victim.

Location technology has limits. Some data is precise; some is approximate. The defense should determine what the data actually proves and whether the defendant had an independent reason to be at the location.

Surveillance Video

Surveillance can establish whether a person appeared at a home, workplace, parking lot, or business and how long the person remained.

It can also contradict claims about confrontation, threats, property interference, or frequency of appearances.

Footage should be preserved before routine deletion.

Witnesses

Neighbors, coworkers, relatives, friends, security personnel, delivery workers, and mutual acquaintances may witness alleged contacts.

The defense should compare their accounts with objective records and determine whether witnesses personally observed conduct or merely repeated what they were told.

Police Interviews

Detectives may ask why the defendant kept contacting the person, went to a residence, created another account, or used a tracking service.

An explanation can become an admission to knowledge or intent. The full interview should be reviewed for Miranda, voluntariness, context, and accuracy.

Bond Conditions After a Stalking Arrest

A stalking arrest can lead to no-contact conditions, firearm restrictions, stay-away provisions, GPS monitoring, or other bond requirements depending on the case.

Tennessee's stalking statute also requires an arresting officer to inform the alleged victim that the arrested person may be eligible for bail and release before trial.

Violating bond conditions can create new criminal and strategic problems.

Orders of Protection

A person who reasonably believes they are a victim of stalking may seek an order of protection under Tennessee law even if the alleged perpetrator has not been arrested, charged, or convicted of stalking.

An order-of-protection proceeding can therefore occur alongside or before the criminal case.

Statements made in one proceeding can affect the other, so strategy should be coordinated.

Probation and GPS Monitoring

If a court grants probation after a stalking conviction, Tennessee law permits special conditions, including no contact, counseling, medication monitoring where applicable, and electronic tracking.

The statute allows probation for a period up to the maximum punishment for the offense classification in this context.

Probation conditions should be read carefully because conduct that might otherwise be lawful can violate a court order.

Mental Health Assessment and Treatment

After conviction for aggravated or especially aggravated stalking, or another felony arising from a stalking-based charge, Tennessee law permits a court to order an independent professional mental-health assessment and treatment where appropriate.

This is a sentencing provision, not proof that a person accused of stalking has a mental illness.

The defense should avoid stigmatizing assumptions and address actual evidence and statutory criteria.

Stalking and Firearm Charges

A displayed firearm can elevate stalking to aggravated stalking, and separate firearm restrictions may apply because of a protective order, domestic-violence conviction, probation condition, or other law.

The defense should analyze the stalking and gun allegations separately and determine whether possession, display, threat, and legal disability are actually proven.

Stalking and Domestic Assault Charges

Prosecutors may charge stalking alongside domestic assault when they allege a pattern of unwanted contact plus a separate assaultive incident.

The defense should determine which acts support each count and whether the State is improperly using the same generalized relationship narrative instead of proving each element.

Stalking and Harassment Charges

Stalking and criminal harassment can be charged together. The prosecution must prove each offense's distinct elements.

Messages may be relevant to both counts, but the defense should identify the precise communication theory under § 39-17-308 and the separate course-of-conduct theory under § 39-17-315.

Stalking and Criminal Trespass

Appearing at or remaining on property can be part of stalking and may also create a trespass allegation.

Permission, ownership, lease rights, notice, and legitimate purpose should be examined.

Stalking and Vandalism

Interference with property can be part of the alleged stalking course, while actual damage may support a vandalism charge.

Photographs, repair records, surveillance, fingerprints, DNA, and ownership evidence can be important.

Prior Relationship Evidence

Relationship history can explain why the parties communicated, whether contact was previously welcome, what certain phrases meant, and whether there was a legitimate purpose.

At the same time, courts may limit irrelevant or prejudicial evidence. The defense should identify the specific evidentiary purpose rather than simply putting the relationship itself on trial.

Discovery in a Stalking Case

Discovery should include more than selected screenshots and the arrest affidavit. The defense should seek complete communications, body camera, 911 calls, surveillance, warrants, phone extractions, location records, protective orders, and witness statements.

A chronological contact chart can be especially useful: date, method, initiator, content, consent status, alleged reaction, and supporting evidence.

Sentencing Consequences

Ordinary stalking is generally a Class A misdemeanor, aggravated stalking is a Class E felony, and especially aggravated stalking is a Class C felony. Ordinary stalking is also a Class E felony for specified registered sexual offenders under current law.

Actual sentencing depends on the offense, criminal history, offender range, facts, and other statutory rules. Protective orders, probation conditions, treatment requirements, and firearm consequences can create additional effects.

The exact charge and offense date should be verified before sentencing advice is given.

Diversion and Alternative Resolutions

Eligibility for pretrial or judicial diversion depends on the precise charge, criminal record, statutory rules, prosecutor, and court.

Felony stalking allegations, protective-order violations, threats, weapons, or prior convictions can substantially affect negotiations.

Counsel should evaluate legal defenses before assuming the case is only about mitigation.

Negotiating a Stalking Case

Negotiations can turn on whether the State can prove a course of conduct, unconsented contact, actual emotional distress, the reasonable-person component, intent, and any aggravating element.

Complete communication records can materially change the case when police initially reviewed only screenshots selected by the complainant.

Where future contact is unnecessary, strict separation and compliance with court orders can also prevent the case from becoming more serious while it is pending.

Preparing a Stalking Case for Trial

A stalking trial is often a timeline trial. The jury needs to know what happened on each date, who initiated each contact, what was said, whether contact was unwanted, and what reaction it allegedly caused.

The defense should separate lawful or consensual interactions from the acts the State claims form the criminal course of conduct.

Digital evidence should be authenticated and placed in context rather than presented as disconnected screenshots.

Important Evidence to Obtain in a Nashville Stalking Case

Complete text-message threads from both sides.
Call logs, voicemails, and phone records.
Social-media messages, posts, account records, and login information.
911 calls and dispatch records.
Body-camera and dash-camera footage.
Surveillance from homes, workplaces, businesses, and parking areas.
Phone, vehicle, and application location data.
Electronic-tracking-device records and account information.
Search warrants and supporting affidavits.
Phone and computer forensic extraction reports.
The actual order of protection, restraining order, or no-contact order.
Proof of service or other evidence of knowledge of a court order.
Messages showing requests to stop contact or later renewed consent.
Co-parenting plans and court-authorized communication provisions.
Evidence showing a legitimate reason to be at a location or communicate.
Weapon photographs, reports, or forensic evidence where a weapon is alleged.
Medical records where bodily or serious bodily injury is alleged.
Prior judgments when the State relies on a previous stalking conviction.

Common Defenses and Challenges

The State cannot prove two or more qualifying acts and no electronic-tracker exception applies.
The alleged contacts were consensual.
The alleged victim restarted or invited communication relevant to the charged contacts.
The defendant did not intentionally engage in stalking.
The conduct did not amount to statutory harassment.
The conduct served a legitimate purpose.
The conduct was constitutionally protected.
The alleged victim did not suffer the required emotional distress.
The conduct would not cause a reasonable person the statutory fear or harassment response.
The State cannot reliably attribute anonymous or online communications to the defendant.
The defendant had a legitimate independent reason to be at the same location.
The State cannot prove a credible threat or required intent for aggravated stalking.
No deadly weapon was displayed in the course and furtherance of stalking.
The defendant lacked knowledge of the protective or no-contact order relied upon.
The alleged victim or age difference does not satisfy the charged aggravating provision.
The serious bodily injury required for the charged especially aggravated theory is not proven.
Critical digital or physical evidence was obtained through an unconstitutional search.

Why Hire a Former Prosecutor for a Nashville Stalking Case?

Stalking cases can appear simple because the State may present a large number of calls, texts, or appearances. But quantity alone does not answer the legal questions. The statute requires a specific course of conduct, harassment, intent, objective and subjective reactions, and---in felony cases---additional aggravating elements.

Kevin Kennedy previously handled thousands of criminal cases as a prosecutor. As a Nashville defense lawyer, he uses that experience to identify how prosecutors will organize the timeline, what evidence they will use to prove fear and intent, and where consent, legitimate purpose, attribution, constitutional protections, or evidentiary gaps may undermine the charge.

The defense should analyze every alleged contact individually and then determine whether the State can lawfully combine those acts into the offense charged.

What to Do After a Stalking Arrest

Follow every no-contact and stay-away condition exactly.
Do not respond even if the alleged victim contacts you when a court order prohibits contact.
Do not create new accounts or use friends to send messages.
Do not delete texts, social-media records, location data, or call logs.
Preserve complete communications, including messages favorable to you.
Save court orders, parenting plans, and documents showing legitimate reasons for contact.
Do not discuss the case on social media.
Do not ask witnesses to coordinate their accounts.
Tell your lawyer about every phone, account, tracking service, or device relevant to the allegations.
Have counsel obtain the actual protective order and proof of service where aggravated stalking is based on a court-order violation.
Build a complete chronological list of every alleged contact.

Frequently Asked Questions About Stalking in Tennessee

What is stalking in Tennessee?

Stalking is a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested and actually causes the alleged victim to feel one or more of those reactions.

Is stalking a felony in Tennessee?

Ordinary stalking is generally a Class A misdemeanor. It can be a Class E felony for specified registered sexual offenders. Aggravated stalking is a Class E felony, and especially aggravated stalking is a Class C felony.

How many contacts are required for stalking?

A course of conduct generally requires two or more separate, noncontinuous acts showing continuity of purpose. One nonconsensual placement of an electronic tracking device can qualify as a course of conduct under the statute.

Can one AirTag or GPS tracker lead to stalking charges?

Potentially. Tennessee law expressly provides that one instance of placing an electronic tracking device without consent on a person or the person's property can qualify as a course of conduct.

Do text messages count as stalking?

They can be part of a stalking course of conduct when the statutory requirements are met. Repeated texts alone are not automatically a stalking conviction.

Can social-media messages be stalking?

Yes, electronic communications and internet or social-media messages can qualify as unconsented contact.

Can calling someone repeatedly be stalking?

Potentially. Telephone contact is expressly included among forms of unconsented contact, but the State must prove the complete stalking offense.

Can sending flowers be stalking?

Potentially. Delivering an object to a person's property can be unconsented contact, particularly when it occurs as part of repeated conduct after a request for no contact.

Can appearing at someone's workplace be stalking?

Potentially. Appearing at a workplace is expressly listed as possible unconsented contact, but context, consent, purpose, and the remaining elements matter.

Can following someone in a car be stalking?

Potentially. Following is expressly included in the statute's course-of-conduct examples.

What if we were dating and used to text constantly?

Prior consensual communication matters. The key question may be when consent ended and what contacts occurred afterward.

What if the alleged victim kept responding?

Responses do not automatically defeat stalking, but they can be relevant to consent and context. The entire communication history should be reviewed.

What if the alleged victim contacted me first?

That can be relevant to consent, but it does not cancel a court no-contact order. A defendant must obey the court's order unless the court changes it.

What if I had a legitimate reason to contact the person?

Tennessee's stalking definition excludes conduct serving a legitimate purpose from harassment. Whether the purpose is legitimate depends on the facts.

Can co-parenting messages be stalking?

Potentially, but legitimate child-related communications authorized by a parenting plan or court order may present a very different issue from threatening or unrelated repeated contact.

What is aggravated stalking?

Aggravated stalking is stalking plus a statutory aggravating circumstance such as displaying a deadly weapon, certain victim ages, a qualifying prior stalking conviction, a credible threat with required intent, or knowingly violating a court-imposed contact prohibition.

What is the penalty for aggravated stalking?

Aggravated stalking is a Class E felony under current Tennessee law.

What is especially aggravated stalking?

It includes specified repeat stalking involving the same victim, aggravated stalking causing serious bodily injury, or stalking by an adult of a victim under twelve.

What is the penalty for especially aggravated stalking?

Especially aggravated stalking is a Class C felony.

Can a gun make stalking a felony?

Displaying a deadly weapon in the course and furtherance of stalking is one way ordinary stalking can become aggravated stalking.

Can a threat make stalking aggravated?

Yes, a qualifying credible threat to the victim or specified relatives or dependents, made with the required intent to cause reasonable fear of death or bodily injury, can support aggravated stalking.

Can violating an order of protection make stalking aggravated?

Yes. Stalking while knowingly violating a qualifying restraining order, order of protection, injunction, or other court-imposed contact prohibition can constitute aggravated stalking.

Can I be charged with stalking and violating an order of protection?

Potentially. Tennessee law does not prohibit prosecution under another criminal statute merely because stalking is also charged.

Can stalking be based on constitutionally protected speech?

The stalking statute expressly excludes constitutionally protected activity from its definition of harassment.

What is a legitimate-purpose defense?

Conduct serving a legitimate purpose is excluded from statutory harassment. Examples can be fact-specific and may involve parenting, property, business, or legal matters.

Does the alleged victim have to be afraid?

The statute requires that the conduct actually cause the victim to feel at least one of the listed reactions---terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested---and that a reasonable person would experience the required reaction.

Does the victim need therapy to prove emotional distress?

No. Tennessee defines emotional distress as significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does not necessarily, require professional treatment.

Can fake social-media accounts create a defense?

Potentially. The State must reliably attribute the account and communications to the defendant.

Can phone location evidence prove stalking?

It can support a location theory, but the technology's precision, attribution, and legitimate reasons for being at a location should be examined.

Can stalking evidence be suppressed?

Potentially. Evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches of phones, homes, vehicles, accounts, or location data may be subject to suppression.

Can a stalking charge be dismissed?

Potentially. Lack of a qualifying course of conduct, consent, legitimate purpose, protected activity, insufficient proof of fear or distress, mistaken attribution, or other failures of proof can support dismissal in an appropriate case.

Can aggravated stalking be reduced to ordinary stalking?

Potentially, if the State cannot prove the aggravating circumstance or through negotiation depending on the evidence and case.

Can stalking charges lead to an order of protection?

Yes. Tennessee law allows a person who reasonably believes they are a stalking victim to seek an order of protection even without an arrest or conviction.

Can stalking probation include GPS monitoring?

Yes. Tennessee law permits a court to impose electronic tracking as a probation condition in stalking cases under specified circumstances.

Should I respond if the alleged victim texts me after I am arrested?

If a no-contact order exists, do not violate it merely because the other person initiated contact. Follow the court order and discuss any needed modification with counsel.

Related Nashville Stalking and Criminal Defense Pages

Talk to a Nashville Stalking Lawyer

A stalking case should be analyzed contact by contact. The defense should identify who initiated each communication, whether consent existed, when any request to stop was made, whether the conduct served a legitimate purpose, what the alleged victim actually experienced, and whether the State can prove every aggravating circumstance it charged.

Kevin Kennedy is a Nashville criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor who has handled thousands of criminal cases. He represents people accused of stalking and other serious offenses in Nashville and Davidson County and uses his prosecution experience to identify weaknesses in the State's timeline, digital evidence, witness accounts, and legal theory.

If you are facing a stalking, aggravated stalking, or especially aggravated stalking charge in Nashville, call or text 615-205-7311 for a free consultation.