Posing threats against someone else may attract serious legal consequences, especially after officers arrest you for causing a victim reasonable fear. Subsequently, you risk facing charges for issuing threats, making it essential to partner with a criminal defense attorney soon after arrest.
A reliable criminal attorney also helps you prepare the relevant legal documents and gather vital evidence for trial. By working with a criminal lawyer, you will also better understand the nature of your charges and how to defend them during trial.
At California Criminal Lawyer Group, you work with skilled and experienced attorneys who are ready to take up your case and build defenses. With our help, you can present a strong defense against the prosecutor, allowing you to avoid legal repercussions. Our services are available for clients facing criminal threat charges in Fresno, California.
Understanding What Criminal Threats Entail
The Constitution provides for the right to liberty. Every citizen should live freely without fear for their own safety or that of their close loved ones. Based on this, threatening someone may attract criminal charges, depending on whether your actions correspond to the elements of the crime.
Making criminal threats is prohibited under Section 422 of the California Penal Code. Specifically, the section prohibits you from threatening to cause serious bodily injury or harm to the threat recipient. The rationale for prohibiting these utterances is to prevent the victim from experiencing reasonable fear for their safety, as it prevents them from thoroughly enjoying their liberties.
Under the penal code provisions, arresting officers are warranted to arrest you if they reasonably believe that you threatened someone and intended to cause bodily harm to them. They must also establish that the victim took the threats seriously, resulting in fear for their wellbeing.
Upon arrest for issuing criminal threats, you may face misdemeanor or felony charges, as the offense is a wobbler crime. Parties whose cases involve more severe circumstances are more likely to face a felony charge, as they cause more fear and possible unrest for the victim.
For example, if you threaten to end someone's life, the prosecutor may institute felony charges against you compared to someone who threatened to punch someone. In the second example, a misdemeanor is more fitting because it is a less severe threat. Nevertheless, every case is subject to factual assessments that may cause it to conclude differently.
With your criminal defense attorney's help, you can establish the most suitable defenses based on the elements of crime. Preparing defenses in advance is essential, as a criminal upholds high evidentiary standards.
You can, therefore, expect the prosecutor to prepare a compelling case against you supported by transparent evidential sources. When you understand the nature of a criminal threat offense, you can determine the most suitable way to defend it.
Elements of Crime the Prosecutor Should Prove
The prosecutor is responsible for filing and presenting a case against you in criminal trials. This is primarily because they act on behalf of the state when filing a case against you. Moreover, they are responsible for representing the aggrieved party, making it essential for them to demonstrate their involvement in crime.
As mentioned, the criminal trial process places high standards on both parties to deliver compelling arguments and evidence. Due to this, the prosecutor must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt before the judge can find you guilty. Doing so requires the prosecution team to show that your actions satisfied the elements of crime related to issuing criminal threats.
Since you are the accused person, understanding the possible argument strategies used against you is highly beneficial. You can use the information to strengthen your defenses and highlight shortcomings in the prosecutor's case.
The following are the main elements of the crime for the prosecutor to prove in a criminal threats case:
You Knowingly Issued Threats to Cause Grievous Bodily Harm or Kill the Victim
The prosecutor opens the case by demonstrating that you wilfully sent threats to a targeted person, describing your intention to cause them harm. By presenting this crime element, the prosecution team highlights the criminal act in question, which forms an essential component of criminal cases.
The prosecutor can expect to rely on various evidence sources to support their argument. For example, they may ask the victim to present witness testimony detailing the threats they received. The victim talks about the date they received a threat, the contents, and how they responded to it to help the prosecutor's case.
Additionally, the prosecutor may present audio or video footage showing you issuing the threats, especially if your actions were public. Sourcing this type of evidence is especially common in today's environment because filming is more accessible through our phones.
Alternatively, the prosecution can rely on police records created after your arrest, which provide details on the events leading to your arrest. If the prosecutor can highlight events that support the accusation against you, they may succeed in presenting this crime element.
You Issued the Threat in Writing, by Electronic Means, or in Person
Additionally, the prosecutor must establish the medium you used to issue the threat to the victim. Presenting these details is crucial, as it further helps demonstrate the adverse effects that your actions had on the victim.
If you issued threats in writing, the prosecutor focuses on obtaining the letter, note, or other physical printouts you may have sent. Typically, the prosecution team liaises with the investigation officers to determine whether the documents are traceable to you.
Elements that help link the document to you include handwriting comparisons, checking for your signature, and identifying when you formulated the written threat if it is printed out. A written threat may also involve graffiti or wording written in an act of vandalism on the victim's property. In this case, the prosecutor may present photographs or videos of the affected building.
Alternatively, your case may involve issuing threats orally, suggesting you did it in person. If so, the prosecutor must establish that you and the victim were in the exact location at the reported time they received the threat.
Possible evidential sources to support their claims include witnesses who were present when you issued the threat or surveillance footage that shows you in the same space. However, the evidence must also demonstrate that your communication with the victim was to make threats and not merely exchanges. Audio evidence is, therefore, more relevant, and you can raise issues on this point if the prosecutor does not present it.
Your charges may also involve issuing threats electronically, and the prosecutor still has a rightful claim against you. In this case, they must specify the electronic mode of communication you used to relay the threat and provide evidence.
The commonly reported electronic methods accused persons use to convey threats include smartphones, video recorders, faxes, emails, social media, and video recorders.
When presenting the electronic option applicable to your case, the prosecutor must respect the rules of evidence admissibility. For example, they must not have obtained details on the electronic threats illegally. Further, they must not have lured you into making threats by agitating you, as this would amount to entrapment.
You Wanted the Victim to Receive Your Message as a Threat
Sometimes, you may make statements that trigger the targeted party without taking them as threats. If so, they may report you to law enforcement, resulting in your arrest and trial. These instances draw attention to the need for the prosecutor to highlight whether you had a criminal intention to have your message taken as a threat.
When presenting your intention to have your message received as a threat, the prosecutor must establish several factors. For example, they must show that you deliberately tried to ensure you caught the victim's attention.
Additionally, the prosecutor must establish that you used harsh words to convey fear to the victim. A threat indicates the intention to undertake action based on the subject matter of your statement. Based on this, the prosecutor will go over the statements you made to establish that you intended for the victim to take your statements seriously.
Moreover, the prosecutor's case will only be successful if they establish that your threat was a clear statement with specificity to it. Highlighting these factors is necessary for the prosecutor, as it establishes that your statements were not general utterances but a threat to a specific person.
Further, the prosecutor should show that the threat was immediate, meaning you conveyed it in a way that showed your intention to act. It should also be an unconditional threat, meaning that you did not intend to wait for the victim to comply with a specific condition to execute the threat.
However, some cases may warrant conviction despite having issued conditional threats. For example, if you knew the victim was highly likely to meet an issued condition, the prosecutor may use it to demonstrate that your threat still warranted criminal accusations.
Establishing the discussed factors requires the prosecutor to source supporting evidence, especially to build credibility. Without proper mechanisms to develop their accusations, your defense attorney may successfully introduce reasonable doubt. Doing so will improve your chances of a favorable case outcome.
The Victim Was Reasonably Afraid of Their Safety After Your Threats
To conclude the case, the prosecutor should show that the victim took your threats seriously, making them reasonably afraid for their safety. The test on whether the victim's fear was reasonable is objective, and the presiding judge assesses the likelihood of a reasonable person reacting the way the victim did.
In court, the prosecutor may expound on the validity of your statements and how they negatively affected the victim. For example, if your threats involve wanting to kill the person and issuing specific details on how to do it, the prosecutor focuses on the wording.
Further, the victim's testimony is essential to the prosecutor's case because it allows them to elaborate on their reaction, including whether they considered taking protective measures. Witness testimony may also be relevant to the case based on the applicable facts.
Introducing the reasonable person test to gauge whether the victim was reasonably afraid is also crucial to the prosecutor's case. They may compare the victim's reaction to previous cases with similar facts and use circumstantial evidence to emphasize the need for a judge to find you guilty.
You should also note that the prosecutor's case may still be successful regardless of whether you intended to execute the threats. The applicable threshold to find you guilty of the offense is whether the victim took your statements seriously and subsequently developed reasonable fear.
Additionally, criminal threat cases are often relevant in domestic abuse cases, so the prosecutor must relate your actions to the general criminal offense. They do this by providing details on the relationship you had with the victim who received threats.
Criminal threat cases also involve issuing different counts for every threat issued. For example, if you threaten more than one person, you risk facing trial for each affected victim. The same standard may be applicable even if you threaten the same person more than once. Nevertheless, the prosecutor may decide to consolidate your case, especially if it involves similar facts.
Defenses for Criminal Threats Charges
Accused persons have a constitutional right to a fair trial, which includes the right to a defense. Preparing a strong defense is essential to your case because it allows you to present it differently. If done well, your arguments may also convince the judge to consider the possibility that the prosecutor's arguments are flawed.
Raising a proper defense requires working closely with your lawyer to establish the most suitable counterarguments. The following are applicable defenses for your case:
The Threat was Unclear or Ambiguous
Among the requirements for a criminal threat to warrant a conviction is that it must be clear, with a specific target. You can, therefore, challenge this element of crime by stating that your alleged threat was ambiguous and did not provide sufficient clarity to warrant arrest.
The rationale for raising your defense would be that you made a general statement that you did not intend for a specific person. Further, you aim to demonstrate that your statement was unclear, making it unfair for the victim to use it as a basis for trial.
Your defense attorney helps you develop a solid counter-argument by showing that your statement has nothing to do with the victim. For example, if the person was unknown to you when you made the alleged threat, the current case is unjustified, as you did not have a specific target.
Your lawyer can help you source evidence to support your claims and strengthen your credibility in court. For example, if a witness is available to confirm that you did not know the victim, it may help justify your current defense.
The Victim was Not Reasonably Afraid
Alternatively, you may argue that the victim was not reasonably afraid, meaning that the prosecution did not satisfy the primary elements of the crime. When presenting this defense, your attorney must have sourced sufficient information to show that the victim did not take your threats seriously; hence, there was no need for your arrest.
You may present text messages or email exchanges with the victim to show their lack of justified fear. For example, if they responded to your threats and claimed not to be afraid of you, their message is strong evidence to dispute the prosecutor's presentation. Further, you may argue that the victim's prior actions against you warranted your reaction, making it less likely for them to develop fear after your threats.
Additionally, if the victim's fear was short-lived, you can argue that it was not reasonably sustained. Presenting this position in court may persuade the judge to consider that the victim lacked a genuine reason for fear, especially if they continued with their routines after the alleged threats.
You Were Exercising Your Right to Free Speech
Citizens enjoy the right to free speech, allowing them to express themselves differently. As a result, you may claim to have been exercising your right to free speech, which the victim perceived as a threat. Your request to the judge is for them to consider the impact of your words and whether they warrant a criminal threat accusation.
Although this defense is acceptable, some exceptions apply and limit its effectiveness in your case. For example, the judge generally does not accept free speech as a defense if your statement has a target and involves an intention to commit violent acts. This is because the law prohibits violence; hence, allowing your statements contradicts the legal prohibitions.
Subsequently, your criminal defense lawyer must establish a proper legal framework to show that you exercised your free speech within the limits. For example, you may present this position if your statement is general and not intended to be taken seriously.
Your Statements Did Not Present an Immediate Threat
Moreover, you can contradict the prosecutor's arguments by showing that your statements pose no immediate threat to the victim. You aim to demonstrate that they had no reason to develop fear, invalidating the current case against you.
While you may choose this defense, consider developing solid justifications for why no immediate threat arose. For example, you may emphasize that you did not provide a future timeline to execute the threat, nor did you disclose the nature of your intended actions. By applying this logic, you may successfully show that the victim lacked a valid reason for fear.
Penalties for Issuing Criminal Threats
After your defense hearing, the judge determines the case outcome based on whether the prosecutor met the criminal standard. If they prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt, you will be guilty of issuing criminal threats, resulting in a sentencing hearing.
You will thus learn of the punishments you face during the sentencing hearing, and the judge will read the judgment to elaborate on the case outcome. Since issuing criminal threats is a wobbler crime, your penalties correspond with the initial charge you faced.
As a misdemeanor, you risk serving up to one year in county jail or paying a fine of up to $1000. On the other hand, facing a felony conviction results in a three-year sentence in state prison, a fine penalty of up to $10,000, or both.
The judge exercises discretion to vary the issued sentence, and they rely on the case circumstances to establish the type of sentence to issue. For example, if you are a first-time offender facing a misdemeanor penalty, you may receive the minimum six-month jail sentence. In contrast, a repeat offender may face a full-year sentence.
Additional factors for consideration include the nature of your threats and their effects on the victim. For example, threatening to punch the victim may attract a lighter sentence compared to threats to kill.
Once the judge issues their verdict, you serve your sentence within the stipulated time. However, you may also appeal the decision if you strongly believe the outcome was unfair. If so, you can count on your criminal defense attorney to prepare for the appeal.
Find a Criminal Attorney Near Me
Issuing criminal threats may attract misdemeanor or felony charges, depending on your case facts. California law classifies it as an offense because of the legitimate fear that the receiver of threats may face. When you or a loved one faces criminal threat charges, you risk serving time in state prison or paying expensive fines as penalties.
You can avoid severe legal repercussions by raising a solid defense against the prosecution. Doing so requires you to work closely with an experienced criminal defense attorney, who helps you assess and determine the most suitable counterarguments.
At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we dedicate ourselves to providing quality legal services to prevent your conviction. We understand the importance of raising solid defenses and are ready to perform in-depth research and develop strong defenses for you. Further, our team is prepared to represent you during the trial to ensure your counterarguments are compelling. If you or a loved one faces criminal threat charges in Fresno, California, contact us today at 559-712-8377.
