People v. Hickman, 988 P.2d 628 (Colo. 1999)

Cases | People v. Hickman, 988 P.2d 628 (Colo. 1999) | 2018

Defendant was charged with sexually assaulting his stepdaughter. The alleged victim’s mother was a prosecution witness. One month after the witness’s testimony and five days before the alleged victim’s testimony, defendant allegedly set off a firecracker near the witness’s home, then called her and said, "the next one’s gonna blow your head off" and "hope you sleep well after that." Defendant was charged with retaliation against a witness or victim. The trial court dismissed the charge, finding that Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-8-706 was unconstitutionally overbroad and vague. The appellate court held that the term "act of harassment" in the statute was overbroad, but that the statute was otherwise constitutional. The term "act of harassment" encompassed communications protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.