When is it a Terroristic Threat to Tell Someone You Will Kill Them?
Full Question:
Answer:
Without a danger of harm, there cannot be a terroristic threat. If the person spoken to understand the statement as merely sarcastic, as not said in a serious manner, then it would not meet the definition of a threat.
The answer will be a matter of subjective determination for the court, based on all the facts and circumstances involved. What is perceived as a threat is judged by what a "reasonable person" would perceive as a threat in similar circumstances. Threat of harm generally involves a perception of injury. Harm is physical or mental damage, an act or instance of injury, or a material and tangible detriment or loss to a person. The precise definition varies according to the context in which it is used. For example, in child welfare law, one definition is as follows:
"Threat of harm is defined as, "all actions, statements, written or non-verbal messages conveying threats of physical or mental injury which are serious enough to unsettle the child's mind. It includes: expressions of intent to inflict pain, injury, or punishment on the child."
In criminal law, a threat of harm varies according to the crime and state law. For instance, the crime of inciting a riot involves the threat of public alarm. The threat of harm involved in an assault may involve a reasonably perceived threat of physical injury. Pointing a banana at someone and threatening to shoot them would not be a reasonably perceived threat, however, if the banana was concealed in a pocket to appear as a weapon, the threat may be a reasonable perception of harm. In the crime of blackmail, the threat may be not only to harm the person being blackmailed, but a family member as well.
Please see the following TX statutes to determine applicability:
§ 22.07 PENAL. Terroristic Threat
(a) A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense
involving violence to any person or property with intent to:
(1) cause a reaction of any type to his threat by an official or
volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies;
(2) place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury;
(3) prevent or interrupt the occupation or use of a building, room,
place of assembly, place to which the public has access, place of
employment or occupation, aircraft, automobile, or other form of
conveyance, or other public place;
(4) cause impairment or interruption of public communications, public
transportation, public water, gas, or power supply or other public
service;
(5) place the public or a substantial group of the public in fear of
serious bodily injury; or
(6) influence the conduct or activities of a branch or agency of the
federal government, the state, or a political subdivision of the state.
(b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class B misdemeanor.
(c) An offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a Class B misdemeanor, except
that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the offense:
(1) is committed against a member of the person's family or household
or otherwise constitutes family violence; or
(2) is committed against a public servant.
(d) An offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class A misdemeanor, unless
the actor causes pecuniary loss of $1,500 or more to the owner of the
building, room, place, or conveyance, in which event the offense is a
state jail felony.
(e) An offense under Subsection (a)(4), (a)(5), or (a)(6) is a felony
of the third degree.
(f) In this section: (1) "Family" has the meaning assigned by
Section 71.003, Family Code.
(2) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by Section 71.004,
Family Code.
(3) "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section 71.005, Family
Code.
(g) For purposes of Subsection (d), the amount of pecuniary loss is the
amount of economic loss suffered by the owner of the building, room,
place, or conveyance as a result of the prevention or interruption of the
occupation or use of the building, room, place, or conveyance.
Art. 2.30 CODE CRIM. P. Report Concerning Certain Assaultive or
Terroristic Offenses
(a) This article applies only to the following offenses:
(1) assault under Section 22.01, Penal Code;
(2) aggravated assault under Section 22.02, Penal Code;
(3) sexual assault under Section 22.011, Penal Code;
(4) aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021, Penal Code; and
(5) terroristic threat under Section 22.07, Penal Code.
(b) A peace officer who investigates the alleged commission of an
offense listed under Subsection (a) shall prepare a written report that
includes the information required under Article 5.05(a).
(c) On request of a victim of an offense listed under Subsection (a),
the local law enforcement agency responsible for investigating the
commission of the offense shall provide the victim, at no cost to the
victim, with any information that is:
(1) contained in the written report prepared under Subsection (b);
(2) described by Article 5.05(a)(1) or (2); and
(3) not exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, or
other law.
§ 37.015 EDUC. Reports to Local Law Enforcement; Liability
(a) The principal of a public or private primary or secondary school,
or a person designated by the principal under Subsection (d), shall
notify any school district police department and the police department of
the municipality in which the school is located or, if the school is not
in a municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is
located if the principal has reasonable grounds to believe that any of
the following activities occur in school, on school property, or at a
school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off school property,
whether or not the activity is investigated by school security officers:
(1) conduct that may constitute an offense listed under Section 508.149,
Government Code;
(2) deadly conduct under Section 22.05, Penal Code;
(3) a terroristic threat under Section 22.07, Penal Code;
(4) the use, sale, or possession of a controlled substance, drug
paraphernalia, or marihuana under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code;
(5) the possession of any of the weapons or devices listed under
Sections 46.01 (1) — (14) or Section 46.01 (16), Penal Code;
(6) conduct that may constitute a criminal offense under Section 71.02,
Penal Code; or
(7) conduct that may constitute a criminal offense for which a student
may be expelled under Section 37.007 (a), (d), or (e).
(b) A person who makes a notification under this section shall include
the name and address of each student the person believes may have
participated in the activity.
(c) A notification is not required under Subsection (a) if the person
reasonably believes that the activity does not constitute a criminal
offense.
(d) The principal of a public or private primary or secondary school
may designate a school employee who is under the supervision of the
principal to make the reports required by this section.
(e) The person who makes the notification required under Subsection (a)
shall also notify each instructional or support employee of the school
who has regular contact with a student whose conduct is the subject of
the notice.
(f) A person is not liable in civil damages for reporting in good faith
as required by this section.
§ 37.006 EDUC. Removal for Certain Conduct
(a) A student shall be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary
alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008 if the
student:
(1) engages in conduct involving a public school that contains the
elements of the offense of false alarm or report under Section 42.06,
Penal Code, or terroristic threat under Section 22.07, Penal Code; or
(2) commits the following on or within 300 feet of school property, as
measured from any point on the school's real property boundary line, or
while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off
of school property:
(A) engages in conduct punishable as a felony;
(B) engages in conduct that contains the elements of the offense of
assault under Section 22.01(a)(1), Penal Code;
(C) sells, gives, or delivers to another person or possesses or uses or
is under the influence of:
(i) marihuana or a controlled substance, as defined by Chapter 481,
Health and Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et seq.; or
(ii) a dangerous drug, as defined by Chapter 483, Health and Safety
Code;
(D) sells, gives, or delivers to another person an alcoholic beverage,
as defined by Section 1.04, Alcoholic Beverage Code, commits a serious
act or offense while under the influence of alcohol, or possesses, uses,
or is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage;
(E) engages in conduct that contains the elements of an offense
relating to an abusable volatile chemical under Sections 485.031 through
485.034, Health and Safety Code; or
(F) engages in conduct that contains the elements of the offense of
public lewdness under Section 21.07, Penal Code, or indecent exposure
under Section 21.08, Penal Code.
(b) Except as provided by Section 37.007(d), a student shall be removed
from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education program
under Section 37.008 if the student engages in conduct on or off of
school property that contains the elements of the offense of retaliation
under Section 36.06, Penal Code, against any school employee.
(c) In addition to Subsections (a) and (b), a student shall be removed
from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education program
under Section 37.008 based on conduct occurring off campus and while the
student is not in attendance at a school-sponsored or school-related
activity if:
(1) the student receives deferred prosecution under Section 53.03,
Family Code, for conduct defined as a felony offense in Title 5, Penal
Code;
(2) a court or jury finds that the student has engaged in delinquent
conduct under Section 54.03, Family Code, for conduct defined as a felony
offense in Title 5, Penal Code; or
(3) the superintendent or the superintendent's designee has a
reasonable belief that the student has engaged in a conduct defined as a
felony offense in Title 5, Penal Code.
(d) In addition to Subsections (a), (b), and (c), a student may be
removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education
program under Section 37.008 based on conduct occurring off campus and
while the student is not in attendance at a school-sponsored or
school-related activity if:
(1) the superintendent or the superintendent's designee has a
reasonable belief that the student has engaged in conduct defined as a
felony offense other than those defined in Title 5, Penal Code; and
(2) the continued presence of the student in the regular classroom
threatens the safety of other students or teachers or will be detrimental
to the educational process.
(e) In determining whether there is a reasonable belief that a student
has engaged in conduct defined as a felony offense by the Penal Code, the
superintendent or the superintendent's designee may consider all
available information, including the information furnished under
Article 15.27, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(f) Subject to Section 37.007(e), a student who is younger than 10
years of age shall be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary
alternative education program under Section 37.008 if the student engages
in conduct described by Section 37.007. An elementary school student may
not be placed in a disciplinary alternative education program with any
other student who is not an elementary school student.
(g) The terms of a placement under this section must prohibit the
student from attending or participating in a school-sponsored or
school-related activity.
(h) On receipt of notice under Article 15.27(g), Code of Criminal
Procedure, the superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall
review the student's placement in the disciplinary alternative education
program. The student may not be returned to the regular classroom pending
the review. The superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall
schedule a review of the student's placement with the student's parent or
guardian not later than the third class day after the superintendent or
superintendent's designee receives notice from the office or official
designated by the court. After reviewing the notice and receiving
information from the student's parent or guardian, the superintendent or
the superintendent's designee may continue the student's placement in the
disciplinary alternative education program if there is reason to believe
that the presence of the student in the regular classroom threatens the
safety of other students or teachers.
(i) The student or the student's parent or guardian may appeal the
superintendent's decision under Subsection (h) to the board of trustees.
The student may not lie returned to the regular classroom pending the
appeal. The board shall, at the next scheduled meeting, review the notice
provided under Article 15.27(g), Code of Criminal Procedure, and receive
information from the student, the student's parent or guardian, and the
superintendent or superintendent's designee and confirm or reverse the
decision under Subsection (h). The board shall make a record of the
proceedings. If the board confirms the decision of the superintendent or
superintendent's designee, the board shall inform the student and the
student's parent or guardian of the right to appeal to the commissioner
under Subsection (j).
(j) Notwithstanding Section 7.057(e), the decision of the board of
trustees under Subsection (i) may be appealed to the commissioner as
provided by Sections 7.057(b), (c), (d), and (f). The student may not be
returned to the regular classroom pending the appeal.
(k) Subsections (h), (i), and (j) do not apply to placements made in
accordance with Subsection (a).
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, other than
Section 37.007(e)(2), a student who is younger than six years of age may
not be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative
education program.
(m) Removal to a disciplinary alternative education program under
Subsection (a) is not required if the student is expelled under Section
37.007 for the same conduct for which removal would be required.
(n) A principal or other appropriate administrator may but is not
required to remove a student to a disciplinary alternative education
program for off-campus conduct for which removal is required under this
section if the principal or other appropriate administrator does not have
knowledge of the conduct before the first anniversary of the date the
conduct occurred.
(o) In addition to any notice required under Article 15.27, Code of
Criminal Procedure, a principal or a principal's designee shall inform
each educator who has responsibility for, or is under the direction and
supervision of an educator who has responsibility for, the instruction of
a student who has engaged in any violation listed in this section of the
student's misconduct. Each educator shall keep the information received
under this subsection confidential from any person not entitled to the
information under this subsection, except that the educator may share the
information with the student's parent or guardian as provided for by
state or federal law. The State Board for Educator Certification may
revoke or suspend the certification of an educator who intentionally
violates this subsection.