State v. Chen, 14-19-00372-CR, 14-19-00373-CR (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.] Dec. 31, 2020)

The Fourteenth District held that the electronic communications harassment statute in Penal Code 42.07(a)(7) is facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The statute is overbroad because it prohibits a wide swath of electronic communications. For example, the statute could conceivably cover the sharing of an “annoying” political social media posts even if it is not directed towards a specific person.