What is Stalking Via The Court System?

Change Family Court
Jan 30
3 min read

When abusers misuse the court system as a tactic to contact, harass, access, and/or sabotage their victims, it is called “vexatious” or “abusive” litigation, “paper” or “separation” abuse, or “stalking through the courts.”

All stalkers can misuse the court system through tactics such as frivolous lawsuits, false allegations, and baseless continuances, and intimate partner stalkers may focus on custody interference and/or overcomplicate divorce proceedings.

Stalking through the courts costs victims time, money, and effort, and turns courts into unsafe places.

Victims often have to miss work, arrange for child care, and spend their energy and finances navigating an often complex legal system. Stalkers may enlist their counsel to demand information about their victims (like new addresses, amazon purchases, emails to their employer, etc.), use the physical location of the court to approach or surveil their victims, and/or spread rumors about victims through frivolous allegations.

Facing stalkers in court can be extremely traumatic for victims, as victims are often forced to be in the same room as their stalker or potentially cross-examined by their stalker or their stalker’s counsel.

How do offenders use courts to stalk?

Frivolous lawsuits
Purposefully prolonging court cases
Disrupting court hearings to cause delays and additional hearings
Baseless continuances
Filing motions to gain access to the victim’s contact information and/or children’s information (such as school information, extracurricular events, doctor’s visits)
Baselessly filing for a protection order against the victim
Using the court to humiliate and/or traumatize the victim (by sharing mental health history, embarrassing personal details, stories of adultery – whether true or made up)
False allegations against the victim (such as being denied access to children)
Deliberately driving up the costs of a lawyer or using up a victim’s legal aid time (such as setting up but failing to attend discoveries, making multiple offers in a short time)
Intentionally misfiling in the wrong court
Disingenuous court applications
Repeating the same application that was previously denied without a material change in circumstances
Taking photos or videos of the victim while at court
Intimidating, threatening, or contacting the victim in hallways or courtrooms
Waiting for the victim outside or following the victim as they leave the courthouse

How Prosecutors, Advocates, and Courts can help

Before Court:

Discuss with victims when they must be present and when they do not need to attend unless they want to (for example, advance continuances or procedural hearings)
When possible, allow survivors to participate in court by phone or video, if they choose to
When possible, require the offender to attend court by phone or video
Object to baseless continuances
Determine if testimony from alternative witnesses (such as police) can be used to prevent the victim from being dragged into court
File motions to exclude personal information being brought in by defense, where appropriate
If the defense demands victim contact information/addresses for further investigation, try to have the contact instead be under supervision at a controlled location (i.e., prosecutor’s office)

During Court:

Ensure victims have a safe place to wait in the courthouse away from offenders
If the victim must sit in the courtroom, have a plan for someone (advocate or assigned detective) to sit with them to discourage approach by the offender
Leverage the courtroom’s set up to block the offender from seeing victim
Notify court officers and sheriffs of illegal behavior (i.e., recording in courtrooms, restraining order violations, intimidation)

After Court:

Work with victims to ensure they have a safe plan for leaving court; if

feasible, have an advocate or officer escort them

Ensure that if the defendant is not in custody, the court allows for a staggered departure of offender and victim
Follow up with victims regarding any protection/restraining order violations after the court date
Ensure court advocates have information for services victims can access to support their mental and physical well-being
Consider sanctions or disciplinary actions for the offender for filing frivolous or improper claims1
Discuss the possibility of tort claims with victims (i.e. that they have suffered damages from these lawsuits, for which abusers can be found legally liable)