Terroristic threat

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A terroristic threat is a threat to commit a crime of violence or a threat to cause bodily injury to another person and terrorization as the result of the proscribed conduct. [1] Several U.S. states have enacted statutes which impose criminal liability for "terroristic threatening" or "making a terroristic threat." [2]

Contents

Overview

Generally, a terroristic threat "is sufficiently specific where it threatens death or great bodily injury, and a threat is not insufficient simply because it does not communicate a time or precise manner of execution. Thus, a criminal statute prohibiting terroristic threatening serves to criminalize future, as well as present, death threats." [3]

Courts have held that "a threat need not take any particular form or be expressed in any particular words, and may be made by innuendo or suggestion, and that the words uttered will not be considered in a vacuum but rather in light of all the circumstances." [4] A number of courts have upheld convictions under a state criminal terroristic threat statute on the basis of a single or solitary threat, [5] a conditional threat, [6] or a threat that some third person will take action. [7] In several states, courts have held that a "threatener's present inability to carry out his or her threats does not in itself remove the threats from the purview of terroristic threat or terroristic threatening statutes." [8] However, "the courts recognized that one does not violate a terroristic threat or terroristic threatening statute by making idle talk or jests which do not have a reasonable tendency to create apprehension that the speaker will act according to the threat." [9]

The threat need not be communicated in person, but may be made by any means; courts have in a number of cases held that a terroristic threat statute may be violated by a threat made by telephone, [10] by letter [11] by communication with a third party, [12] or by "a nonverbal, symbolic threat which in other respects satisfies the criminal elements specified in the terroristic threat statute" (such as the burning of a cross on the target's driveway). [13]

The required mens rea element of the offense is generally "that the accused have made the threat with the intent or purpose of causing fear in the victim or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such fear." [14] At least one court has specified that the "proof of a terroristic threat is measured by an objective standard." [15]

American Law Reports indicates that "the cases are in disagreement over the availability of voluntary intoxication as a defense in a terroristic threat or terroristic threatening prosecution, with intoxication being a defense where a specific criminal intent is an essential element of the offense, but not a defense where the offense is established without specific criminal intent." [16]

Terroristic-threat statutes have generally been upheld by the courts against constitutional challenges raising claims that such laws violate the Free Speech Clause, [17] are impermissibly vague, [18] or overlap with a criminal assault statute. [19]

Example statutes

Model Penal Code

In the Model Penal Code, terroristic threats are defined as assault related crimes. [20] Under the MPC "a person is guilty of a felony of the third degree if he threatens to commit any crime of violence with purpose to terrorize another or to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation, or otherwise to cause serious public inconvenience, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience." [21]

California

"Under California law, the elements of the completed crime of making threats with intent to terrorize are: (1) willfully threatening to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, (2) specific intent that the statement be taken as a threat, (3) the threat was on its face and under the circumstances so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat, (4) the threat caused the victim to be in sustained fear for his or her own safety or for his or her immediate family's safety, and (5) the victim's fear was reasonable under the circumstances." [22]

Texas

In Texas, terroristic threats are prohibited under Chapter 22 of the Texas Penal Code: [23] [24]

Sec. 22.07. TERRORISTIC THREAT. (a) A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to:

(1) cause a reaction of any type to his threat by an official or volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies;
(2) place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury;
(3) prevent or interrupt the occupation or use of a building, room, place of assembly, place to which the public has access, place of employment or occupation, aircraft, automobile, or other form of conveyance, or other public place;
(4) cause impairment or interruption of public communications, public transportation, public water, gas, or power supply or other public service;
(5) place the public or a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury; or
(6) influence the conduct or activities of a branch or agency of the federal government, the state, or a political subdivision of the state.

United States

18 U.S.C.   § 2332b(c)(1)(g) makes it a class C felony, punishable by 3 years imprisonment, for someone to willfully threaten to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily harm; the threat is made with the specific intent that it be taken as a threat; the threat is so unequivocal, unconditional, and specific as to convey a gravity of purpose and immediate prospect of execution; the threat actually causes fear in the victim; and the fear is reasonable. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in criminal prosecution, civil liability, or both. Additionally, assault is a criminal act in which a person intentionally causes fear of physical harm or offensive contact to another person. Assault can be committed with or without a weapon and can range from physical violence to threats of violence. Assault is frequently referred to as an attempt to commit battery, which is the deliberate use of physical force against another person. The deliberate inflicting of fear, apprehension, or terror is another definition of assault that can be found in several legal systems. Depending on the severity of the offense, assault may result in a fine, imprisonment, or even death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theft</span> Nonconsensual taking of someones property

Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word theft is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as larceny, robbery, embezzlement, extortion, blackmail, or receiving stolen property. In some jurisdictions, theft is considered to be synonymous with larceny, while in others, theft is defined more narrowly. A person who engages in theft is known as a thief.

Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) and housebreaking, is the act of illegally entering a building or other areas without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, larceny, robbery, or murder, but most jurisdictions include others within the ambit of burglary. To commit burglary is to burgle, a term back-formed from the word burglar, or to burglarize.

Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault, which is the act of creating reasonable fear or apprehension of such contact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intimidation</span> Intentional behaviour meant to cause a person humiliation, embarrassment, and discomfort

Intimidation is a behaviour and legal wrong which usually involves deterring or coercing an individual by threat of violence. It is in various jurisdictions a crime and a civil wrong (tort). Intimidation is similar to menacing, coercion, terrorizing and assault in the traditional sense.

Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Typically, "disorderly conduct" is a term used to refer to any behavior that is considered unacceptable in a formal, civilized or controlled environment. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such statutes are often used as "catch-all" crimes. Police may use a disorderly conduct charge to keep the peace when people are behaving in a disruptive manner, but otherwise present no danger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Penal Code</span> Defines most criminal law, criminal procedure, and penal institutions in California

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Offences Against the Person Act 1861</span> UK criminal statute

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death threat</span> Threat to kill

A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a death threat could be a form of coercion. For example, a death threat could be used to dissuade a public figure from pursuing a criminal investigation or an advocacy campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threat</span> Indication of intent of harm

A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for coercion is considered a threat.

Holloway v. United States, 526 U.S. 1 (1999), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the court addressed the issue of whether the federal carjacking law applies to crimes committed with the "conditional intent" of harming drivers who refuse a carjacker's demands.

Terms such as menacing, brandishment or brandishing refer to criminal offenses in many U.S. states which are generally defined as displaying a weapon with the intent of placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury or death.

The term “brandish” means, with respect to a firearm, to display all or part of the firearm, or otherwise make the presence of the firearm known to another person, in order to intimidate that person, regardless of whether the firearm is directly visible to that person.
— 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(4).

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References

  1. ↑ Sonja Larsen, 86 C.J.S. Threats § 24 (database last updated Dec. 2015) (footnotes omitted).
  2. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949 (originally published in 1986, subsequently updated).
  3. ↑ Larsen, 86 C.J.S. Threats § 24 (database last updated Dec. 2015) (footnotes omitted).
  4. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 6.
  5. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 7.
  6. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 8.
  7. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 9.
  8. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 12.
  9. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 10.
  10. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 949, § 22.
  11. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 949, § 23.
  12. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 949, § 24.
  13. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 949, § 25[a].
  14. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 949, § 29.
  15. ↑ 31A Am. Jur. 2d Extortion, Blackmail, etc. § 53 (citing State v. Dispoto, 189 N.J. 108, 913 A.2d 791 (2007)).
  16. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 32.
  17. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 3.
  18. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 4.
  19. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 5.
  20. ↑ Crump, David; Cohen, Neil P.; Levenson, Laurie L.; Parry, John T.; Pether, Penelope (2010-04-26). Criminal Law: Cases, Materials, and Lawyering Strategies. LexisNexis. ISBN   978-0-327-17631-2.
  21. ↑ 31A Am. Jur. 2d Extortion, Blackmail, etc. § 53 (citing Model Penal Code § 211.3).
  22. ↑ 45 A.L.R. 4th 949, § 12.5 (citing West's Ann.Cal.Penal Code § 422).
  23. ↑ "Penal Code Title 5. Offenses against the person Chapter 22. Assaultive offenses". www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us.
  24. ↑ "Terroristic Threat Law & Legal Definition". USlegal.com.
  25. ↑ "Statutes Related to Hate Crime and Terrorism" (PDF). Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
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