Is the Misuse of a Telephone a Crime in Maryland?
The conduct does not sound criminal. And indeed, the proper use of a telephone is not criminal. Misuse doesn’t sound like a crime, but you would be surprised. Maryland law prohibits the making of an anonymous call, or repeated calls, that are intended to threaten or harass a victim. The aggressive criminal defense lawyer in Baltimore will likely argue against this prohibition applying to texts and faxes as well, as the statute requires a “call”. A separate section to of the same statute also prohibits using telephone equipment to make a “comment, request, suggestion or proposal” that is “lewd or obscene” so that, depending on the content of the message, this section may well apply.
-This Article was updated by Eric Kirk on 4/29/20.