Hate Crimes: State Statutes and Contacts: Maryland - Mississippi

This guide is meant to summarize state statutes relating to hate crimes.  In addition to the state statutes listed, there are relevant federal statutes:

•  Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, H.R. 3355, Pub.L. 103–322, Sec. 280003 108 Stat. 1796, 2096 provides for enhanced sentencing for hate crimes, defined as "a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person." 
•  Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA), 18 USC § 249
• For more on federal statutes, see Congressional Research Service Report R47060, Overview of Federal Hate Crime Laws    

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a reporting form for hate incidents.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association has resources including a reporting form for hate incidents and hate crimes toolkits in 25 languages.

Alison M. Smith and Cassandra L. Foley, State Statutes Governing Hate Crimes, Congressional Research Service Report RL33099 (Sept. 28, 2010) served as an invaluable resource for this guide.  

For UCLA Law users, Westlaw has a treatise on Hate Crimes Law by Zachary J. Wolfe  (login and password required).

State specific information from the federal Department of Justice (hate crimes home page).

The Movement Advancement Project maintains a list of which state hate crimes statutes include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hate crimes laws:

• Md. Code Ann. Crim. Law § 10-301: definitions relating to hate crimes--"homeless" and "sexual orientation" defined
• Md. Code Ann. Crim. Law § 10-302: crime of damage to property of a religious entity
• Md. Code Ann. Crim. Law § 10-303: "A person may not, by force or threat of force, obstruct or attempt to obstruct another in the free exercise of that person's religious beliefs."
• Md. Code Ann. Crim. Law § 10-304: shall not attempt to commit a crime against a person or their property "Because of another's race, color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin, or because another is homeless"
• Md. Code Ann. Crim. Law § 10-305: crime to damage real or personal property "because a person or group of a particular race, color, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin, or because a person or group that is homeless, has contacts or is associated with the building" or "if there is evidence that exhibits animosity against" the same
• Md. Code Ann. Crim. Law § 10-307: any penalty under the hate crimes statutes "may be separate from and consecutive to or concurrent with a sentence for any crime based on the act establishing the violation of this subtitle."
• Md. Code Ann. Pub. Safety § 2-307: Requires state police to collect data on hate crimes

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:
FBI Field Office
FBI Baltimore
2600 Lord Baltimore Drive
Baltimore, MD 21244
Phone: (410) 265-8080

State Attorney General’s Office + Other State Resources
Office of the Attorney General
200 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 576-6300
Phone (Toll-Free): (888) 743-0023
Phone (TDD): (410) 576-6372

Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center, Inc.
Offers advice and referral services and a Crime Victim Legal Advocacy Program
Phone: 1-877-VICTIM-1 (1-877-842-8461)

Hate crimes laws:

• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6 § 116B: requires training for law enforcement officers about hate crimes
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 22C § 33, 34, 35: Requires collection of data on hate crimes
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265 § 37: crime to interfere with a person's civil rights
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265 § 39: crime to "commi[t] an assault or a battery upon a person or damages the real or personal property of a person with the intent to intimidate such person because of such person's race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability"
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266 § 127A: crime to damange or threaten to damage "a church, synagogue or other building, structure or place used for the purpose of burial or memorializing the dead, or a school, educational facility or community center or the grounds adjacent to and owned or leased by any of the foregoing or any personal property contained in any of the foregoing"

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:
FBI Field Office
FBI Boston
One Center Plaza, Suite 600
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 742-5533

State Attorney General’s Offices
Office of the Attorney General
 
Boston
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108-1518
Phone: (617) 727-2200
TTY: (617) 727-4765

Springfield
1350 Main Street, Fourth Floor
Springfield, MA 01103-1629
Phone: (413) 784-1240

New Bedford
105 William Street, First Floor
New Bedford, MA 02740-6257
Phone: (508) 990-9700

Worcester
10 Mechanic Street, Suite 301
Worcester, MA 01608-2417
Phone: (508) 792-7600

Hate crimes laws:

• Mich. Comp. Laws. Serv.§ 28.257a: Requires collection of data on hate crimes
• Mich. Comp. Laws. Serv.§ 750.147b: crime of ethnic intimidation; physical contacting another or damaging their property or threatening to do the same "if there is reasonable cause to believe that" such an act will occur based on "specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of that person's race, color, religion, gender, or national origin"

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:
FBI Field Office
FBI Detroit
477 Michigan Ave., 26th Floor
Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 965-2323

State Attorney General’s Offices
Office of Attorney General
 
Lansing Office
G. Mennen Williams Building, 7th Floor
525 W. Ottawa St.
P.O. Box 30212
Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: (517) 373-1110

Detroit Office
Cadillac Place, 10th Floor
3030 W. Grand Blvd., Suite 10-200
Detroit, MI 48202
Phone: (313) 456-0240

Hate crimes laws:

• Minn. Stat. § 609.595: damage to property, including enhanced penalties when based on "the victim's or another's actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability..., age, or national origin"
• Minn. Stat. § 609.749: stalking, including enhanced penalties when based on "the victim's or another's actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability..., age, or national origin"
• Minn. Stat. § 609.2231: crime of assault based on certain occupations or characteristics, including "the victim's or another's actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability..., age, or national origin"
• Minn. Stat. § 626.5531: requires collection of data on hate crimes
• Minn. Stat. § 626.8451: requires training for law enforcement officers about hate crimes

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:
FBI Field Office
FBI Minneapolis
1501 Freeway Boulevard
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
Phone: (763) 569-8000

State Attorney General’s Office
Office of the Attorney General
1400 Bremer Tower
445 Minnesota Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone: (651) 296-3353
Phone (Toll-Free): (800) 657-3787
Phone (TTY): (651) 297-7206 or 1-800-366-4812
 

Hate crimes laws:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 97-17-39: crime of vandalism of public buildings including churches
• Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-301 through 99-19-307: "The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be subject to enhancement as provided in Sections 99-19-301 through 99-19-307 if the felony or misdemeanor was committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, national origin or gender of the victim, or that the reason the underlying crime was committed was the victim's actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical technician."

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:
FBI Field Office
FBI Jackson
1220 Echelon Parkway
Jackson, MS 39213
Phone: (601) 948-5000

State Attorney General’s Offices
Office of the Attorney General
MS Attorney General’s Office
P.O. Box 220
Jackson, MS 39205

Attorney General’s Office 
Walter Sillers Building
550 High Street, Suite 1200
Jackson, MS 39201
Phone: (601) 359-3680