Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/903/1262/435734/
Timestamp: 2020-06-03 18:46:05
Document Index: 348927731

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 115', '§ 115', '§ 115', '§ 3631', '§ 871', '§ 871', '§ 871', '§ 871', '§ 115', '§ 871', '§ 3631', '§ 876', '§ 871']

United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Alfredo Orozco-santillan, Defendant-appellant, 903 F.2d 1262 (9th Cir. 1990) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Ninth Circuit › 1990 › United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Alfredo Orozco-santillan, Defendant-appellant
United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Alfredo Orozco-santillan, Defendant-appellant, 903 F.2d 1262 (9th Cir. 1990)
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 903 F.2d 1262 (9th Cir. 1990) Argued and Submitted March 8, 1990. Decided May 23, 1990
Alfredo Orozco-Santillan appeals the district court's denial of his motion for acquittal and his conviction on three counts of threatening a federal law enforcement officer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115. We affirm.
* The government indicted Alfredo Orozco-Santillan ("Orozco-Santillan") on three counts of threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115.
At the close of both the government's and his case, Orozco-Santillan moved for judgment of acquittal on all counts, pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 29. The district court denied the motions. Orozco-Santillan was found guilty, following a jury trial, on all three counts, and sentenced to 18 months confinement and three years probation. He timely appeals, arguing that as to Counts II and III the government failed to prove that his statements were threats, and as to Count I the government failed to prove that Orozco-Santillan was the caller.
This court examines the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction and the denial of a motion for acquittal by reviewing the evidence "in the light most favorable to the prosecution," determining whether "any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979) (emphasis in original); United States v. Sharif, 817 F.2d 1375, 1377 (9th Cir. 1987). " [T]he reviewing court must respect the province of the jury to ascertain the credibility of witnesses, resolve evidentiary conflicts, and draw reasonable inferences from proven facts, by assuming that the jury resolved all such matters in a manner which supports the verdict." United States v. Goode, 814 F.2d 1353, 1355 (9th Cir. 1987) (quoting United States v. Ramos, 558 F.2d 545, 546 (9th Cir. 1977)).
To convict Orozco-Santillan under 18 U.S.C. § 115(a) (1) (B), the government must prove: 1) the defendant, 2) threatened to assault, 3) a federal law enforcement officer, 4) with intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against that officer, 5) while the officer was engaged in or on account of the performance of his official duties.1 The elements of this statute have not been the specific subject of a decision in our circuit. However, by applying Ninth Circuit case law interpreting analogous statutes,2 we find that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict for each count.
A threat has been defined for application in other statutes as "an expression of an intention to inflict evil, injury, or damage on another." United States v. Gilbert, 884 F.2d 454, 457 (9th Cir. 1989) (quoting Webster's Third New International Dictionary at 2382) (applying 42 U.S.C. § 3631, which prohibits interference with housing rights by force or threat of force), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S. Ct. 1140, 107 L. Ed. 2d 1044 (1990). Alleged threats should be considered in light of their entire factual context, including the surrounding events and reaction of the listeners. Id. (citing United States v. Mitchell, 812 F.2d 1250, 1255 (9th Cir. 1987) (applying 18 U.S.C. § 871, which governs threats to assault or kill the President)); accord United States v. Merrill, 746 F.2d 458, 462-63 (9th Cir. 1984), (applying 18 U.S.C. § 871) cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1165, 105 S. Ct. 926, 83 L. Ed. 2d 938 (1985); Roy v. United States, 416 F.2d at 876 (applying 18 U.S.C. § 871). "The fact that a threat is subtle does not make it less of a threat." Gilbert, 884 F.2d at 457.
Whether a particular statement may properly be considered to be a threat is governed by an objective standard--whether a reasonable person would foresee that the statement would be interpreted by those to whom the maker communicates the statement as a serious expression of intent to harm or assault. Mitchell, 812 F.2d at 1255-56 (reasonable person standard employed in determining whether statement is threat under 18 U.S.C. § 871); Merrill, 746 F.2d at 462.3 Although a threat must be "distinguished from what is constitutionally protected speech" (Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705, 707, 89 S. Ct. 1399, 1401, 22 L. Ed. 2d 664 (1969) (per curiam)), this is not a case involving statements with a political message. A "true" threat, where a reasonable person would foresee that the listener will believe he will be subjected to physical violence upon his person, is unprotected by the first amendment. Merrill, 746 F.2d at 462.
The identity of a telephone caller may be established by self-identification of the caller coupled with additional evidence such as the context and timing of the telephone call, the contents of the statement challenged, internal patterns and other distinctive characteristics, and disclosure of knowledge of facts known peculiarly to the caller. United States v. Miller, 771 F.2d 1219, 1234 (9th Cir. 1985); Fed.R.Evid. 901.
18 U.S.C. § 115(a) (1) (B) states, "Whoever threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under such section, with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with such official, judge, or law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with intent to retaliate against such official, judge or law enforcement officer on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b)."
We find the case law interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 871 (Threats Against the President) particularly relevant. Both sections 115 and 871 focus on the same evil: the detrimental effect upon a federal official's activity and performance of official duties that may result from threats against the official. See Roy v. United States, 416 F.2d 874, 876-88 (9th Cir. 1969); Pub. L. 98-473, 1984 U.S.Code Cong. and Adm.News pp. 3182, 3496
The only intent requirement is that the defendant intentionally or knowingly communicates his threat, not that he intended or was able to carry out his threat. Gilbert, 884 F.2d at 456-57 (applying 42 U.S.C. § 3631, governing threats to interfere with housing rights); United States v. Davis, 876 F.2d 71, 73 (9th Cir. 1988) (applying 18 U.S.C. § 876, governing mailing threatening communications), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S. Ct. 188, 107 L. Ed. 2d 143 (1989); Mitchell, 812 F.2d at 1256 (interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 871); United States v. Roy, 416 F.2d at 877 (threat has restrictive effect upon the free exercise of Presidential responsibilities regardless of whether the person making it actually intends to assault the President). Orozco-Santillan does not contend that he did not intend to make these statements, he argues only that the statements he made could not reasonably be interpreted as threats