Understanding the Severe Consequences of a Criminal Threats Conviction
California Penal Code 422 PC defines the crime of criminal threats as unlawfully threatening to harm or kill someone when the threats place the victim in reasonable and sustained fear for their own safety or the safety of their immediate family.
Put simply, the threat has to deal with inflicting either a significant bodily injury or death on the victim or members of their family.
Readers should not know that most Penal Code 422 PC criminal threats cases are directly related to a domestic violence incident.
The legal definition of criminal threats under PC 422 states:
- “Any person who willfully makes threats to commit a crime resulting in great bodily injury or death, with intent it should be taken as a threat, under circumstances so immediate and specific as to relay to the person threatened, an immediate prospect of execution of the threat, which causes them to be in fear their safety or their immediate family.”
The unlawful threat can be made verbally, in writing, or through electronic communication like email or text messages. Note that there is no requirement that the defendant ever had an actual intent to carry out the threat.
Further, your threats must place the victim in reasonable fear, which means they were fearful and the fear was sustained. This is a frequent target of attack by experienced legal counsel.
A felony PC 422 criminal threats conviction is serious business that typically results in a significant California state prison sentence and a “strike” under the three strikes law.
For more detailed information, our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers provide an overview of the law below.
What Must a Prosecutor Prove for a Criminal Threats Conviction?
For a prosecutor to convict someone of making criminal threats that violate Penal Code 422 PC, there are several factors they must prove beyond any reasonable doubt.
These factors are called the elements of the crime and are listed under CALCRIM 1300 California criminal jury instructions:
- The defendant willfully made threats to injure or kill someone;
- threat was made verbally, in writing, or by electronic communication;
- the threat was communicated with intent to be received as a threat;
- it was made under the circumstances that it conveyed the immediate possibility of the threat being executed;
- the threat placed victims in fear for their safety or their family members.
Explicitly communicated
So that you know, the threat has to be communicated explicitly. For instance, gestures such as just shaking your fist at the victim will not be sufficient to support a Penal Code 422 criminal threats charge.
However, if you shake your fist at the victim and then tell them, “I'm going to kill you,” then this action could be prosecuted under this statute.
Significant bodily injury or death
Further, to face prosecution under PC 422, the alleged threat has to involve significant bodily injury or death. For example, if you tell somebody that you are “coming over to slap them,” this is not serious enough to face criminal threats charges, even though it is a threat.
Placing victim or family in fear of their safety
One of the most challenging factors a prosecutor must prove is often that the threat placed the victim in sustained fear.
Clearly, this is objective and will depend on the victim's reaction. Put simply, what would a reasonable person think in this situation?
If it can somehow be proven the victim was never actually in fear, then a criminal threats charge under Penal Code 422 can't be sustained.
The statute requires that a victim be placed in “sustained” fear. This means it's possible that a victim could have been put in a situation where the unlawful threat placed them in significant fear at that moment, but that fear dissipates almost immediately. Thus, PC 422 charges can't be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Finally, as noted, you can be prosecuted for making criminal threats even if you never had any actual intent to carry them out. But, the threat alone is sufficient for prosecution.
What are the Related California Crimes?
There are several related crimes to Penal Code 422 criminal threats, including:
- Penal Code 243(e)(1) PC – domestic battery,
- Penal Code 273.5 PC – corporal injury to a spouse
- Penal Code 368 PC – elder abuse,
- Penal Code 136.1 PC – dissuading a witness,
- Penal Code 646.9 PC – stalking,
- Penal Code 186.22 PC – street gang enhancement,
- Penal Code 518 PC – extortion.
Potential Punishments for a California Criminal Threats Conviction
California Penal Code 422 criminal threats have become increasingly prevalent in today's society, and if you have a case in Los Angeles that involves criminal threats, you have a big problem.
This is because the liberal prosecutors have started prosecuting this crime quite a bit. People are potentially facing prison time and a stay-away order from whoever it is they're allegedly giving a criminal threat to.
PC 422 is a “wobbler” that can be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony. If convicted as a misdemeanor, you are facing:
- up to one year in the county jail, and
- a fine up to $1,000,
- summary probation.
If, however, you are convicted of a felony criminal threats case, you are facing:
- 16 months, 2 or 3 years in a California state prison,
- a fine of up to $10,000,
- formal probation.
There are also a host of other consequences based on whatever conduct they claim you were involved in related to the criminal threat charge.
Finally, as noted, a felony criminal threat qualifies as a strike offense. A third-strike defendant faces a potential life sentence in California state prison. This means that if you have two previous serious or violent felony convictions, a third felony conviction, even for a non-violent crime like PC 422, could result in a life sentence.
Defending Criminal Threats Cases
So, you first need to decide whether you have a defense to the criminal threat charge. Common defenses in PC 422 cases include lack of intent to threaten, lack of fear in the victim, or mistaken identity. It's essential to consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney to determine the best defense strategy for your case.
People often do because sometimes the alleged victim is trying to gain some advantage over the person they're accusing of Penal Code Section 422 PC.
Prosecutors and police are often sympathetic to this because they realize that people try to take advantage of situations and make claims that are simply not true.
What I have you do if you've been arrested or being investigated for criminal threats is we have you come in and sit down in my office, and we talk about everything. As I said, we will first decide whether you have a defense.
If you do have a defense, we'll do whatever investigation is necessary to build that defense so we're ready to meet the challenge when the prosecutors arrest you and send you to court.
Mitigation and Seeking Reduced Charges: A Ray of Hope
If you don't have a defense — I've had people leave messages on another person's phone, threatening them. That's going to be a problem for a defense.
If you don't have a defense, we will look at mitigation. In other words:
- why was the threat made?
- what's the back story behind it?
- what does your criminal record look like?
- Is there any way we can reduce it to a misdemeanor?
- can we keep you out of jail?
- are there other charges that might be applicable?
You don't want Penal Code 422 as a felony because that is a strike. You can't get that off your criminal record. So, pick up the phone. Make the call now. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding.
We'll sit down and develop a strategy that makes sense for you and your particular situation. We'll first determine whether you have a defense, and if you do, we'll start preparing to assert that defense.
If you don't have a defense, we will start making moves to mitigate the situation for you—get your side of the story out there and put together a sensible strategy so all is not lost.
Just because somebody might not have a defense to a criminal threat doesn't mean they're just going to give up and do nothing and say, well, I'm just going to go with the public defender. Don't do that because there's a lot at stake, even if you don't have a defense, like jail or prison time, a strike on your record, loss of certain rights, or restricted movements.
What am I looking at as far as potentially getting a conviction that doesn't involve jail time or a strike? So, pick up the phone now. Make the call. I stand ready to help you.
