Source: https://www.shouselaw.com/criminal_threats.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 19:19:43+00:00

Document:
Penal Code 422 - California laws on "Criminal Threats"
Criminal threats is the crime of putting someone in fear.
California Penal Code 422 PC defines the crime of "criminal threats" (formerly known as terrorist threats).
a recently fired employee calling the former boss and saying "you and the office staff better watch your backs,"
texting your ex that you're going to set fire to her apartment.
you only made a threatening gesture and did not convey your threat verbally, electronically or in writing.
Or it may be the case that there was no threat, and the accuser is making a false allegation.
And because a criminal threats conviction is a "strike" under California's three strikes law, you must serve at least 85% of your sentence before you are eligible for release.
Note that you can violate California's criminal threats law without actually addressing the person you are threatening, according to the case of People v. Lipsett (2014). The defendant, in this case, got into a fight with another man over a dirt bike that the other man claimed the defendant was trying to steal. The defendant yelled to a companion, "Shoot him!" For this, the defendant was charged with violating Penal Code 422 PC, California's criminal threats law. All that mattered was that defendant intended his statement to be taken as a threat.
Let's take a closer look at some of these terms and phrases to gain a better understanding of their legal definitions.
And although this law refers to threatening a person, the threat may be directed at an individual or a group of people (such as all the employees of a particular company).
Under Penal Code 422 PC, the threat must be verbal, written or electronically communicated. Gestures that are unaccompanied by a verbal, written or electronically communicated statement will not suffice.
Criminal threats can be conveyed via text messages. Indeed, "text threats" are often easier for the prosecutor to prove.
that the fear was sustained (as opposed to momentary or fleeting).
Let's take a look at each of these in order.
Before you can be convicted of a criminal threats charge, the prosecution must establish that the recipient of the threat actually feared for his/her safety or for the safety of his/her family. If the person laughs and replies "Yea, whatever," that's probably good evidence he doesn't take the threat seriously. But if he buys a new security system or goes into hiding, that's probably good evidence that he is really in fear.
And this requirement that the recipient of the threat believes that the threat is credible...and is therefore fearful of its execution...may be satisfied whether you deliver the threat in person or communicate it through a third party.12 This is important to understand - you may still be prosecuted for criminal threats even if you are not the person who personally conveys the threat.
If the victim was not scared, there is no criminal threat and any charges filed under Penal Code 422 PC should be dismissed. However, if the victim was fearful, the analysis turns to the next question - was that fear reasonable?
If your threat is silly or unreasonable...for example, "I'm going to hijack an F-15 and drop a bomb over your house"...the threat doesn't meet the legal definition of a criminal threat.
However, this is not to say that there must be an immediate ability to carry out the threat, as long as the recipient of the threat reasonably believes that it could be imminent.13 Suppose, for example, I threaten to shoot you...and have my hand in my pocket to make it look as if I have a gun, even though I really don't. That would suffice, assuming the additional elements of the crime were also satisfied.
Courts have had a difficult time creating an exact definition for "sustained" fear. The best they have come up with is that it refers to "a state of mind...that extends beyond what is momentary, fleeting or transitory."14 There is no set timeframe to which this refers and it must therefore be determined on a case-by-case basis.
For a criminal threats charge to hold, the victim must be in "sustained fear"...which means it lasts for more than a moment. But courts are vague as to exactly how long the fear must last.
Example of sustained fear: After having a fairly meaningless confrontation with a man at a gas station, the defendant drove away. He then returned, displaying a knife in his waistband that the man and his 14-year-old son believed was a gun. He was saying in no uncertain terms that he should and would kill the man and his son right then. He then told the man and his son to leave.
The victim testified that he was "scared to death during the whole ordeal" which lasted about 40 seconds. Within 15 minutes when he was on the freeway and out of harms way, he called 911 and that told the operator that he was "scared shitless".
Example where the court found there was no sustained fear: Contrast this to a case where the court found that the victim's fear was only fleeting and therefore did not support a criminal threats charge against the defendant.
The defendant, a high school student, felt disrespected by his teacher when the teacher opened a door that accidentally hit the student in the head. In retaliation, the student "got in the teacher's face" and stated that he was "going to get him". The teacher sent the student to the office, and the police interviewed the student the next day and then again interviewed him a week later.
It bears repeating that the language used in Penal Code 422 PC calls for a threat that is "so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution..."
But despite these exact words, threats that are conditional or empty can nevertheless qualify as criminal threats.
Depending on the circumstances, this type of threat could actually be a form of extortion or blackmail (discussed in detail under Section 4.2 Extortion), which would subject you to additional penalties under California Penal Code 518 PC).18 And when conditional threats are made with a sense of purpose and likelihood that they will be executed if the condition is/isn't satisfied, they will be considered criminal threats.
Example: A woman witnessed a robbery perpetrated by gang members. She had gone to court twice for the prosecution. The defendant went to her home, grabbed her by the throat, put a gun to her head and said "don't go to court and testify against our home boys....or else we'll hurt you or we'll take you out...If you go to court and testify, I'll kill you...There's nowhere you can go where I won't be able to find you."
Given these facts, the defendant clearly didn't intend to execute the threat. Yet the employees reasonably feared that he did. This is why he was properly charged with the offense.
If the prosecutor can't prove any of the elements above, you cannot be convicted of this offense. As such, there are numerous legal defenses on which the defense can rely.
The following are examples of some of the most common defenses to a criminal threats charge that your attorney can present on your behalf.
The language of Penal Code 422 PC states that the threat must be so "unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific" that it conveys an immediate possibility of execution.
But if the alleged threat was so vague...and there was no sense of when you might execute the threat...that vagueness would serve as a defense.
Example: An inmate serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole tells one of the deputies that he's going to kill the deputy and his family.Under this scenario, the inmate would probably not be convicted of making a criminal threat. Without more, there's no sense of immediacy or any reason for the deputy to assume that the defendant has the ability to carry out his threat.
There is a clear distinction between these two threats. The first conveys no sense of immediacy. In fact, the inmate is in prison for life and would seem incapable of carrying out the threat. However, the second is very clear - the inmate will have his friends execute the threat if the deputy fails to obey the inmate's demands.
It, therefore, follows that the absence of circumstances that would be expected to accompany a threat may serve as a defense to the claim that the statement was a criminal threat.
Example: Let's refer back to an example above where the defendant, a high school student, felt disrespected by his teacher when the teacher opened a door that accidentally hit the student in the head. To retaliate, the student "got in the teacher's face" and stated that he was "going to get him".
If the alleged victim doesn't fear your threat...either because he/she believes that it is a joke or that you are incapable of executing it...then there is no criminal threats violation - period. The victim must be placed in fear and if...for whatever reason this isn't the case...you should be acquitted of the charge.
This means that it doesn't matter if the threatened individual actually fears your threat if it wasn't reasonable to do so under the circumstances.
For example, if someone threatens to run you over with an airplane...someone who has no pilot's license and threatens you while you are standing in the street of a residential neighborhood...it would not be reasonable for you to fear that the individual making the threat would actually see it through.
The last part of the "fear" analysis involves whether the victim's fear was sustained as opposed to momentary or fleeting. If the fear only lasted for a brief moment...and didn't cause any prolonged concern...you should not be convicted of criminal threats.
And if the victim's fear was sustained...but it was an over-reaction and therefore not reasonably sustained...that, too, may serve as a defense.
Example: The defendant...an inmate in jail...told a jail psychotherapist that he was thinking about how he was going to kill [his girlfriend] once he was released from jail, that he had previously threatened to kill her and that if he saw her with someone else, he would shoot her, then the kids and then himself. The defendant also told the psychotherapist that he had a friend who would kill her if he asked him to do so. The psychotherapist then relayed the information to the girlfriend.
The court held that Penal Code 422 PC was not enacted to punish emotional outbursts. It recognized the importance of examining the context of the statement in order to determine whether a threat qualifies as protected speech or rises to the level of a criminal threat.
Because there is no requirement that the victim suffers any physical injury, criminal threats is a crime which is ripe for false accusations. Anyone who is angry, jealous, vengeful, spiteful or trying to escape his/her own criminal liability could easily falsely accuse another person of this serious crime. This is especially true when the accusation is of a verbal threat, with no written or electronic recording.
But as Ventura criminal defense lawyer Darrell York32 explains, "Our attorneys are all former police investigators and prosecutors. This experience allows us to explore and examine cases in a way where we can detect the lies and reveal the truth. If you were falsely accused of making criminal threats, we will fight the charge to clear your name."
A felony criminal threats conviction is a strike under California Three Strikes law.
And because Penal Code 422 PC is a strike, you must serve at least 85% of your sentence before you will be eligible for release on parole.
There are a number of offenses that could be charged in connection with criminal threats. If you threaten to kill or seriously injure another person during the commission or attempted commission of another crime, prosecutors will likely charge you with both crimes.
The following are some examples of these types of offenses.
If you attempt to dissuade a witness from testifying...and do so by threatening imminent harm in violation of California's criminal threats law...prosecutors will likely charge you with both offenses.
Like Penal Code 422 PC, dissuading a witness is a wobbler, punishable by up to one year in a county jail or by up to four years in the state prison.
Suppose, for example, you threaten a politician. You tell him that if he doesn't vote for the specific legislation, you'll make sure his family suffers the consequences. Prosecutors could charge you with both extortion and criminal threats.
criminal threats in addition to another domestic violence offense if there are also allegations of actual force or violence.
Penal Code 646.9 PC California's stalking law prohibits harassing or threatening another person to the point where that individual fears for his/her safety or the safety of his/her family.45 This law is very similar to Penal Code 422 PC.
If you "stalk" another person...and communicate a verbal, written or electronically transmitted threat that causes the recipient reasonably to believe you intend to carry out that threat...you face prosecution for criminal threats and stalking.
Penal Code 601 PC aggravated trespass is frequently charged along with criminal threats.
If you or loved one is charged with Penal Code 422 PC criminal threats and you are looking to hire an attorney for representation, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a free consultation in office or by phone. We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California.
¿Habla español? Visite nuestro sitio Web en español sobre las leyes de California sobre amenazas criminales código.
2 See same, Penal Code 422 PC California's criminal threats law.
5 Our California criminal defense attorneys have local Los Angeles law offices in Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Pomona, Torrance, Van Nuys, West Covina, and Whittier. We have additional law offices conveniently located throughout the state in Orange County, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Jose, Oakland, the San Francisco Bay area, and several nearby cities.
6 See California Penal Code 422 PC California criminal threats law, endnote 1, above.
10 People v. Franz (2001) 88 Cal.App.4th 1426.
11 See Penal Code 422 California's criminal threats law, endnote 1, above.
15 Facts taken from Fierro, above.
16 Facts taken from In re Ricky T. (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1132.
17 People v. Brooks (1994) 26 Cal.App.4th 142, 149.
19 See Brooks at 147, endnote 17, above.
20 See same at 149.
22 Facts based on People v. Melhado (1998) 60 Cal.App.4th 1529.
24 Facts taken from People v. Mosley (2007) 155 Cal.App.4th 313.
27 In re Ricky T. (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1132.
31 People v. Felix (2001) 92 Cal.App.4th 905.
32 Ventura criminal defense lawyer Darrell York uses his former experience as a Glendale Police Officer to represents clients at the Ventura Hall of Justice, the Van Nuys courthouse, the Pasadena courthouse, the Burbank courthouse, the Glendale courthouse, the Lancaster courthouse, the San Fernando courthouse, and the Criminal Courts Building.
33 See Penal Code 422 PC California's criminal threats law, endnote 1, above.
40 To learn more about how criminal convictions can affect professional licenses, please visit our pages on professional license issues (which are organized by individual professions).
As stated above, criminal threats is considered a crime of moral turpitude (see our article on Crimes of Moral Turpitude for more information).
47Penal Code 186.22 PC California's criminal street gang enhancement.
48 Penal Code 601 PC - Aggravated trespass.
50 Please feel free to contact our Las Vegas Nevada criminal defense attorneys Michael Becker and Neil Shouse for any questions relating to Nevada's terrorist threats laws. Our Nevada law offices are located in Reno and Las Vegas.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.