Harrell v. State, 297 Ga. 884

Harrell failed to appear at a landlord-duty hearing; a bench warrant issued. He then posted Facebook messages referencing Deputy Chief Clerk Tammy Graham and Clerk Rhett Walker, threatening to post an embarrassing (nonexistent) video and urging others to contact Walker.
Harrell called Walker and said he would “turn [Walker's] world upside down” and warned about action on Facebook if the bench warrant was not lifted.
Harrell left two voicemail messages for his ex-girlfriend Shirley Webb, impersonating her boyfriend and threatening to post pornographic videos; a dead cat was found in Webb’s mailbox and Harrell was seen pointing at it as he drove by; an animal trap was later found on Harrell’s property.
Indictment charged Harrell with two counts of endeavoring to intimidate a court officer (OCGA § 16-10-97(a)(1)) and cruelty to animals; he was convicted on all counts and appealed.
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the intimidation convictions were unconstitutional as applied because Harrell’s communications did not constitute “true threats” of unlawful violence, and that joinder of the animal-cruelty count with the intimidation counts was improper and prejudicial; convictions reversed.

Issue	Harrell's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether OCGA § 16-10-97(a)(1) as applied criminalized protected speech	Harrell: statute, as applied, punished nonviolent speech and violated First Amendment	State: statute can proscribe speech that endeavors to intimidate or impede court officers	Held: As applied, Harrell’s posts/calls were not “true threats” of unlawful violence; convictions reversed
Whether Harrell’s Facebook posts and calls constituted a “true threat”	Harrell: statements were embarrassing/condemnatory, not threats of violence	State: communications intimidated and impeded officers’ duties	Held: No reference or implication of violence; reasonable listener fear related to instability but not bodily-harm threat — not a true threat
Whether joinder of animal cruelty with intimidation counts was proper	Harrell: counts are dissimilar, not same conduct or common scheme; severance required	State: alleged pattern/common motive connecting acts to court matters	Held: Joinder improper—different character, separate acts 13 days apart, no evidence of common scheme; failure to sever was harmful error
Whether evidence supports cruelty-to-animals conviction on retrial	Harrell: challenges sufficiency	State: facts (trap, dead cat, pointing) support conviction	Held: Evidence was sufficient to allow a rational jury to find guilt beyond reasonable doubt; retrial permitted on that count

Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (definition of “true threat” and requirement of intent to place victim in fear of bodily harm)
Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., 466 U.S. 485 (appellate court’s independent review of First Amendment records)
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (First Amendment protections and appellate review principles)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
United States v. Turner, 720 F.3d 411 (true threats can be conditional and need not be explicit)
Nielander v. Board of County Com’rs, 582 F.3d 1155 (true threats convey gravity of purpose and likelihood of execution)
Corales v. Bennett, 567 F.3d 554 (contextual evaluation of intent to inflict bodily harm)
Dingler v. State, 233 Ga. 462 (Georgia adoption of ABA joinder standards)
Terry v. State, 259 Ga. 165 (severance inquiry: whether jurors can intelligently separate evidence)