N.Y. Laws » CHAPTER Penal / PART Specific Offenses / TITLE Offenses Against the Person Involving Physical Injury, Sexual Conduct, Restraint and Intimidation / ARTICLE Assault and Related Offenses
New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Penal Law § 120.55 (2026)

Stalking in the second degree

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section NY-LEGnysenate.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar 
§ 120.55 Stalking in the second degree.
  A person is guilty of stalking in the second degree when he or she:
  1. Commits the crime of stalking in the third degree as defined in
subdivision three of section 120.50 of this article and in the course of
and in furtherance of the commission of such offense: (i) displays, or
possesses and threatens the use of, a firearm, pistol, revolver, rifle,
shotgun, machine gun, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun, cane
sword, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, plastic knuckles, metal knuckles,
chuka stick, sand bag, sandclub, slingshot, slungshot, shuriken,
throwing star, dagger, dangerous knife, dirk, razor, stiletto, imitation
pistol, dangerous instrument, deadly instrument or deadly weapon; or
(ii) displays what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun,
machine gun or other firearm; or
  2. Commits the crime of stalking in the third degree in violation of
subdivision three of section 120.50 of this article against any person,
and has previously been convicted, within the preceding five years, of a
specified predicate crime as defined in subdivision five of section
120.40 of this article, and the victim of such specified predicate crime
is the victim, or an immediate family member of the victim, of the
present offense; or
  3. Commits the crime of stalking in the fourth degree and has
previously been convicted of stalking in the third degree as defined in
subdivision four of section 120.50 of this article against any person;
or
  4. Being twenty-one years of age or older, repeatedly follows a person
under the age of fourteen or engages in a course of conduct or
repeatedly commits acts over a period of time intentionally placing or
attempting to place such person who is under the age of fourteen in
reasonable fear of physical injury, serious physical injury or death; or
  5. Commits the crime of stalking in the third degree, as defined in
subdivision three of section 120.50 of this article, against ten or more
persons, in ten or more separate transactions, for which the actor has
not been previously convicted.
  Stalking in the second degree is a class E felony.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2003–2024 · leading case: People v. Stuart, 797 N.E.2d 28 (N.Y. 2003).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. Stuart, 797 N.E.2d 28 (N.Y. 2003). · cites it 2× “50); second-degree stalking is a class E felony (Penal Law § 120.55); and first-degree stalking is a class D felony (Penal Law § 120.”
People v. Jackson, 139 A.D.3d 875 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2016). · cites it 3× “However, the Supreme Court gave erroneous instructions to the jury on the elements of stalking in the second degree under Penal Law § 120.55 (1). In its original instructions to the jury, and in response to a jury note requesting a read back of all elements of all of the…”
People v. Renderos-Flores (William), 2024 NY Slip Op 51170(U) (N.Y. App. Term. 2024). “Defendant was charged in a felony complaint with stalking in the second degree (Penal Law § 120.55 [4]), and, in three separate accusatory instruments, with stalking in the third degree (Penal Law § 120.”
People v. Brown, 61 A.D.3d 1007 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep't 2009). “We also find that County Court committed reversible error when it refused defendant’s request that the jury be instructed that to convict him of the crime of stalking in the second degree, it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant, within five years, had been…”
People v. Brown, 13 A.D.3d 667 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep't 2004). “A person is guilty of stalking in the second degree (a class E felony) when he or she commits the crime of stalking in the third degree having previously been convicted, within the previous five years, of aggravated harassment involving the same victim as alleged to be the…”
People v. Brown, 77 A.D.3d 1190 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep't 2010). “Stalking in the fourth degree as it relates to this prosecution requires that defendant’s conduct actually causes “material harm to the mental or emotional health of [a] person” and, as such, is not necessarily committed when all of the relevant elements of stalking in the…”
Hurd v. City of New York, No. 1:18-cv-03704 (E.D.N.Y Sept. 26, 2019). “); see N.Y. Penal Law § 120.55 (2). On March 31, 2016, Hurd received an indeterminate prison sentence, with a minimum of one-and-one-third years, and a maximum of four years, to be served in the custody of New York State’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision…”
Rodriguez v. Schriro, 34 Misc. 3d 781 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2011). “(Penal Law §§ 120.55, 120.60.) *784 B. Based on the Severe Potential Sentence Available under the Pennsylvania Statute Petitioner Violated, the Offense Equates to a Felony under New York Law Conviction of an offense that another jurisdiction treats with severe potential…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.