Take Control, End Harassment with a Cease and Desist
Video Transcript: Using cease and desist letters in Oklahoma to stop harassment. I am James Wirth and I’m an Oklahoma lawyer. We’re doing a series on cease and desist letters and how they may be useful to various scenarios, and this one deals with harassment.
So anytime there is a violation of law, whether it’s criminal or civil, a cease and desist letter may be a tool that could be utilized to try to stop the person from doing those activities and violating the law voluntarily to get it done more quickly without the process and expense of going through litigation. So here we’re talking about harassment.
Well, harassment can be a criminal offense in Oklahoma, it can also be something that can lead to a protective order. So if someone is harassing, stalking you and it’s a continual behavior over time, you’re going to want that to stop. But if you file a protective order that is public record, you’ve got to go to court on that. It’s a costly long process.
So a lot of times before somebody goes to that extent, they may want to try a different option, and that is a cease and desist letter. And that is a formal letter usually from an attorney or a law office. You put it on letterhead, you serve it by certified mail or by a process server so that they can see that this is serious stuff.
You explain how what they are doing violates the law, whether it’s criminal code or civil law, and then you explain what the consequences are if they continue to do so, and you’re essentially demanding that they cease and desist that activity, or they may suffer the consequences of a criminal referral or a civil lawsuit. And these can be effective many times and when they’re effective, that means that time has been saved, money has been saved, and it’s just an easier process for everyone. And also, if it doesn’t work, it can help lay a better groundwork for litigation or even a criminal case later because it shows they were on notice and they refused to comply with the law even though they knew they were required to do so.
So if you’re dealing with a circumstance like this, you’re probably going to want to talk to an attorney. You’re going to want to do so privately and confidentially to see how these opportunities as far as cease and desist litigation, filing a criminal complaint, a police report, how those may factor into your situation. See what’s best for you to get that scheduled with a criminal defense attorney in Tulsa at my office and go online to makelaweasy.com.
