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<section article="gcr" article_name="Criminal Law" number="3-803" title_number="3" title_name="Other Crimes Against the Person" subtitle_number="8" subtitle_name="Stalking and Harassment">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Residence” includes the yard, grounds, outbuildings, and common areas surrounding a residence.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Visual surveillance” has the meaning stated in § 3–901 of this title.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>A person may not follow another in or about a public place, conduct visual surveillance of an area of another’s residence where the other has a reasonable expectation of privacy, or maliciously engage in a course of conduct that alarms or seriously annoys the other:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>with the intent to harass, alarm, or annoy the other;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>after receiving a reasonable warning or request to stop by or on behalf of the other; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>without a legal purpose.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <level label="1">
      <text>This section does not apply to a peaceable activity intended to express a political view or provide information to others.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>This section may not be construed in a manner that infringes on any right guaranteed under the United States Constitution or the Maryland Declaration of Rights.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>for a first offense, imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a fine not exceeding $500 or both; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>for a second or subsequent offense, imprisonment not exceeding 180 days or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
