California Penal Code 422 PC makes it a crime to communicate a threat to somebody that could result in great bodily injury or death, commonly known as “criminal threats.”
PC 422 criminalizes threats to harm or kill someone if it puts the victim or someone else in reasonably sustained fear for their safety or that of their loved ones. The threats involve inflicting a great bodily injury (GBI) or death.
Penal Code 422 PC is frequently connected to domestic violence crimes. The legal definition of this law says, “Anyone who willfully makes a threat to commit a crime resulting in great bodily injury or death to someone, with the intent their statement is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent to carrying it out, which was specific to the person threatened, an immediate prospect of execution, causing the victim to be in fear of their safety or immediate family.”
The threat could be verbal, written, or through the form of electronic communication, such as text messages or email.
Criminal threats are not to be taken lightly. They are considered a severe crime, exposing a defendant to the provisions of California's three-strikes law and resulting in a significant state prison sentence. Let's review this law in more detail below.
Misdemeanor vs. Felony Criminal Threats Charges
These criminal threat cases are severe, especially in California's big cities, such as Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and Ventura County.
The prosecutors and judges take these cases very seriously. Depending on the facts and circumstances, whether or not you have a criminal record, and whether or not you had the means to carry out the threat, you could be facing years in prison and a strike on your record.
These are severe cases that demand the best defense. I've been defending people for criminal threat cases, Penal Code Section 422, for approximately 30 years, and I've seen this crime change.
When the Three Strikes Law came out in 1994, this was not a strike. Since then, it's been changed to a strike. So, if you get convicted, you'll have a strike on your record for the rest of your life – at least if you live in California. The Three Strikes Law is a sentencing scheme that significantly increases the punishment for individuals who have been convicted of a serious or violent felony and have previously been convicted of two or more serious or violent felonies.
So, when I say what type of charges you are facing, you could be faced with a felony Penal Code Section 422, or you could be charged with a misdemeanor Penal Code Section 422, and sometimes the line between the two is very murky. Usually, in most cases, I would say a person is going to be charged with a misdemeanor if they:
- have no criminal record, and
- they didn't have a weapon.
Perhaps they were not armed with weapons when threatening to kill somebody and marching over to their house when the police arrested them. On the flip side, they could face PC 422 felony charges:
- if the person has a record,
- if they have prior violent convictions for felonies and
- they're threatening to kill somebody, and it looks like they were serious about the threat.
The prosecutor could file a felony in that situation. It's a wobbler crime, and they'll look at several different factors in determining whether it's filed as a felony or a misdemeanor; depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, there could be other charges that go along with it.
What are the Related Crimes for Penal Code 422?
- 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 601 PC – aggravated trespassing,
- Penal Code 186.22 PC – gang enhancement,
- Penal Code 518 PC – extortion.
What Are the Best Legal Defense Strategies?
Ultimately, there are many different factors involved in what you end up pleading to. Of course, having the best criminal defense attorney would be significant.
You don't want to plead to a felony Section 422 as a strike. You may not even have to plead to a Penal Code Section 422 if the prosecutors don't have the evidence to substantiate the case.
Maybe some other charge is warranted, or perhaps you're innocent, didn't commit any crime, and, therefore, should not be charged with a crime.
This is one of the determinations I try to make right off the top when a client hires me:
- Do the prosecutors have the evidence to prove the case?
- Is there any investigation we can do to get the other side of the story out to the police, prosecutors, and the judge?
- If they have the evidence, what is the likelihood the case will be filed and convicted as a felony versus a misdemeanor?
- How much punishment are you facing?
- Are you facing jail time?
- Are you facing prison time?
- Can we keep you out of jail?
- Can we get some alternate sentences, such as community service or probation, instead of jail time?
- Can we mitigate the case's circumstances to show your side of the story?
Maybe there's another motive at play here. I've had cases where current spouses claim somebody threatened to kill them – their significant other – because they want to gain an advantage in a divorce case, and it's a complete lie.
Nobody threatened anybody. I've had other cases where money is owed to somebody, and the person who owes the money is now going to claim that they are being threatened to gain an advantage against the person they owe the money to so they don't have to pay the money. There is all sorts of stuff going on.
But you need the best to adequately address your rights—to properly try to keep yourself out of prison and jail and to have a strike on your record.
Contact a Criminal Threats Defense Professional
Put my 30 years of experience to work for you. I've worked for the district attorney's office. I've worked for a superior court judge and people like you since the early 1990s, defending them for criminal threat cases.
It used to be a terrorist threat, changing it to a criminal threat. Really, what they're trying to do is prevent people from gaining an advantage or trying to scare somebody into doing something they shouldn't have to do. They take these cases very seriously, both police and prosecutors, and they prosecute them vigorously.
If you can help it, you don't want this type of conviction on your record. If you have to swallow this conviction, you certainly don't want a lengthy prison sentence.
So, if you or a loved one is charged with criminal threats, you're looking for the best; you want to fight the charges, mitigate the charges, keep out of custody, and pick up the phone now. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding at the Hedding Law Firm. We offer a free case evaluation by phone or by filling out the contact form.
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