What makes a threat terroristic?

Last week I wrote about disorderly conduct, which you may recall is basically when someone says something that causes a breach of the peace. Along those same lines are terroristic threats.

Georgia’s terroristic threats statute is OCGA 16-11-37 which holds in Section (a) “A person commits the offense of a terroristic threat when he or she threatens to commit any crime of violence, to release any hazardous substance, as such term is defined in Code Section 12-8-92, or to burn or damage property with the purpose of terrorizing another or of causing the evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation or otherwise causing serious public inconvenience or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience. No person shall be convicted under this subsection on the uncorroborated testimony of the party to whom the threat is communicated.”

This statute thus applies to the idiot who runs into a theater and yells “Fire!” when there is no fire and he simply wanted to watch the movie in a less crowded theater.

It also applies, far more commonly, to the ex-boyfriend who calls his ex-girlfriend and says something like “I’m gonna pee all over your grave next week.” Had he left off the “next week” part, he might not have committed the crime of terroristic threat, because the cases point out that some form of immediacy is required. That is, the victim must feel that an immediate threat is intended, however immediate can depend on the facts. “I can hardly wait until you’re dead so I can pee on your grave,” while not polite, could mean that the ex-boyfriend is willing to wait as long as it takes to accomplish his toxic watering. To the ex-girlfriend, the threat may sound immediate, but the law probably would require more facts to make the threat seem timelier.

How about sending your old girlfriend black roses? Not cool, but does that connote a death threat? Not sure, but I know that waking up with a severed horse’s head in your bed would count (see the original “Godfather” movie to learn more).

Part 2 of the section covers that the threat has to have corroboration. Does that mean that the threat has to be heard “live” by another? Nope. Some people seem to think that leaving a death threat on their ex’s phone answering system shouldn’t count as corroboration, but it’s actually pretty good corroboration that the threat was made, isn’t it? An email, text message, twitter, facebook message, etc. can all count as a threat if the person who the threat is directed to feels that the words terrorize them.

A terroristic threat is a felony even if the offense threatened is a misdemeanor. Saying “I’m going to kick your behind” is a felony, but just kicking the behind is a misdemeanor. One of my former assistants, now a judge, used to say “Don’t sing it, bring it.” Better advice was never given.

Kelly Burke, master attorney, former district attorney and magistrate judge, is engaged in private practice. He focuses on personal injury cases and corporate litigation. These articles are not designed to give legal advice, but are designed to inform the public about how the law affects their daily lives. Contact Kelly at kelly@burkelasseterllc.com to comment on this article or suggest articles about the law that you’d like to see.

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