People v. France CA1/1
A145537
| Cal. Ct. App. | Sep 30, 2016Background
- Defendant Michael Ray France convicted of making criminal threats (Pen. Code §422) after a second jury trial; sentenced to 4 years and restitution; prior prison-term allegations found true.
- France and victim Ashley Toles lived together; prior domestic violence and threats by France established at trial.
- Over ~30 hours in March 2014 France sent numerous violent, explicit texts threatening to kill, maim, rape with a gun, sell into slavery, break her neck, and to kick in her door; he said he was nearby and had a lockpick kit.
- Toles testified she felt threatened, nervous, and believed France wasn’t joking; she did not immediately call police but did so late on March 27; an officer observed her nervous and helped obtain a protective order.
- Jury convicted on completed criminal threats; on appeal France argued (1) insufficient evidence of sustained fear and (2) the trial court erred by failing to instruct sua sponte on the lesser included offense of attempted criminal threats.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence of sustained fear for §422 | Evidence of violent, specific texts plus prior violence shows Toles was in sustained, reasonable fear | Toles’ insulting, argumentative responses and delay in calling police show she was not in sustained fear | Affirmed: substantial evidence supports conviction (jury could reasonably infer sustained fear) |
| Failure to instruct on lesser included offense (attempted criminal threat) | No separate plaintiff position asserted; prosecution relied on completed offense evidence | Trial court should have instructed sua sponte because reasonable jurors could find only attempted threat given Toles’ conduct | Reversed: trial court erred in not instructing on attempted criminal threat and error was not harmless; reversal required |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Kraft, 23 Cal.4th 978 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
- People v. Toledo, 26 Cal.4th 221 (elements of criminal threats; attempted criminal threat doctrine)
- People v. Breverman, 19 Cal.4th 142 (mandatory instruction on lesser necessarily included offenses when supported by evidence)
- People v. Cook, 39 Cal.4th 566 (independent review of instructional error)
- People v. Flannel, 25 Cal.3d 668 (standard for when evidence merits lesser-offense instruction)
- People v. Watson, 46 Cal.2d 818 (harmless-error/‘reasonable probability’ standard)