State v. JohnstonState v. Johnston
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Madsen (en banc)
MADSEN, J.
¶ 1 Petitioner Tracey Johnston contends that because the jury instructions did not define “threat” as a “true threat,” the Court of Appeals erred in affirming his conviction for threatening to bomb Sea-Tac International Airport. He also argues that the bomb threat statute is unconstitutionally overbroad unless it is given a limiting construction to prohibit only true threats. Finally, Johnston argues that there is insufficient evidence that he made a true threat and, thus, the charge against him must be dismissed. We agree that the jury was improperly instructed and that the statute must be construed to prohibit only true threats and reverse the Court of Appeals. However, we remand for a new trial under proper instructions.
FACTS
¶ 2 On May 2, 2001, Alaska Airlines flight attendant Jennifer Stellflug noticed two passengers, petitioner Tracey Johnston and another man, who appeared to be intoxicated. After seeing the men drinking alcoholic beverages, Stellflug told the men the use of personal alcohol was not permitted. Following a second warning about the use of alcohol, she confiscated an alcoholic beverage from the men. She and other flight attendants advised the pilots of the situation, who notified controllers at Sea-Tac, who in turn notified Port of Seattle police.
¶ 3 Port of Seattle Officer Raymond Blackwell met the incoming flight. Blackwell testified that when Johnston got off the plane it was obvious he had been drinking—“[t]here was a strong odor of alcohol and his eyes were watery and blood shot.” Transcript of Proceedings (Oct. 4, 2001) (TR) at 85. Blackwell detained Johnston, obtained his identification and ran a computer check, then arrested Johnston on two outstanding misdemeanor warrants. Blackwell took Johnston to the airport security office. Blackwell testified that Johnston was “visibly upset” about the arrest, TR at 96, and that while Blackwell was booking Johnston and writing his report Johnston “started vocalizing his unhappiness.” TR at 92. Johnston said that “he would come back to the airport and ... this place up” and that “he was going to blow this place up.” TR at 94. Blackwell testified that Johnston said that “he knew about the airport, and he knew what it would take ... all he needed was a Ryder truck and some nitro diesel fuel. ...” TR at 94-95. Johnston
¶ 4 Johnston was charged with threats to bomb or injure property in violation of
¶ 5 The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in an unpublished opinion. Johnston petitioned for discretionary review. We granted the petition and remanded to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration in light of State v. Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d 36, 84 P.3d 1215 (2004). The Court of Appeals again affirmed the conviction in an unpublished opinion. State v. Johnston, noted at 123 Wash.App. 1044, 2004 WL 2361999, 2004 Wash.App. LEXIS 2364. The court reiterated its prior holdings that
ANALYSIS
¶ 6 The parties agree that
¶ 7
It shall be unlawful for any person to threaten to bomb or otherwise injure any public or private school building, any place of worship or public assembly, any governmental property, or any other building, common carrier, or structure, or any place used for human occupancy. ...
¶ 8 The statute regulates pure speech and therefore “must nevertheless be `interpreted with the commands of the First Amendment clearly in mind.‘” State v. Williams, 144 Wash.2d 197, 207, 26 P.3d 890 (2001) (quoting Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705, 707, 89 S.Ct. 1399, 22 L.Ed.2d 664 (1969)). Certain categories of speech “`are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.“’ Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d at 42, 84 P.3d 1215 (quoting Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., 466 U.S. 485, 504, 104 S.Ct. 1949, 80 L.Ed.2d 502 (1984)). One of these categories of punishable words is “true threats.” Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343, 359, 123 S.Ct. 1536, 155 L.Ed.2d 535 (2003); Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d at 43, 84 P.3d 1215 (citing cases) (“true threats” are unprotected speech).4
¶ 9 We have adopted an objective standard for determining what constitutes a true threat: A “true threat” is a statement
“in a context or under such circumstances wherein a reasonable person would foresee that the statement would be interpreted... as a serious expression of an intention to inflict bodily harm upon or to take the life of [another individual].”
United States v. Khorrami, 895 F.2d 1186, 1192 (7th Cir.1990) (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Hoffman, 806 F.2d 703, 707 (7th Cir.1986)), quoted in Williams, 144 Wash.2d at 207-08, 26 P.3d 890; State v. J.M., 144 Wash.2d 472, 478, 28 P.3d 720 (2001); Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d at 43, 84 P.3d 1215; see State v. Knowles, 91 Wash.App. 367, 373, 957 P.2d 797 (1998). “[W]hether a true threat has been made is determined under an objective standard that focuses on the speaker.” Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d at 44, 84 P.3d 1215.5 “A true threat is a serious threat, not one said in jest, idle talk, or political argument.” Id. at 43, 84 P.3d 1215.
¶ 10 The United States Supreme Court has said that “`[t]rue threats’ encompass those statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals.” Black, 538 U.S. at 359, 123 S.Ct. 1536.6 “The speaker need not actually
¶ 11 The constitutionality of the Washington bomb threat statute has been addressed in only a few cases. The Court of Appeals in the present case relied on two cases in support of its conclusion that
¶ 12 As the parties here agree, unless the bomb threat statute is given a limiting instruction so that it proscribes only true threats, it is overbroad. A law criminalizing speech is unconstitutionally overbroad under the First Amendment “`if it sweeps within its prohibitions constitutionally protected free speech activities.‘” City of Bellevue v. Lorang, 140 Wash.2d 19, 26, 992 P.2d 496 (2000) (quoting City of Seattle v. Huff, 111 Wash.2d 923, 925, 767 P.2d 572 (1989)). The overbreadth doctrine will invalidate a statute only if the “`enactment reaches a substantial amount of constitutionally protected conduct,‘” City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451, 458, 107 S.Ct. 2502, 96 L.Ed.2d 398 (1987) (quoting Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 494, 102 S.Ct. 1186, 71 L.Ed.2d 362 (1982)), “judged in relation to the statute‘s plainly legitimate sweep,” Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 615, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973). See State v. Pauling, 149 Wash.2d 381, 386, 69 P.3d 331 (2003); Lorang, 140 Wash.2d at 26-27, 992 P.2d 496. Further, “[a] statute will be invalidated only if the court is unable to limit sufficiently its standardless sweep by a limiting construction.” Pauling, 149 Wash.2d at 386, 69 P.3d 331.
¶ 13 Here, the statute reaches a substantial amount of protected speech. For example, threats made in jest, or that constitute political statements or advocacy, would be proscribed unless the statute is limited to
¶ 14 We construe
¶ 15 The next question is whether the jury was properly instructed. Johnston proposed a jury instruction defining a true threat, although the instruction did so in terms of the reasonable listener-based standard rather than the speaker-based standard this court has adopted. The trial court refused to give the instruction and instead instructed the jury solely in terms of
¶ 16 The Court of Appeals held, however, that the instruction of “threat” provided to the jury “was ... not improper because it did not require the threat to rise to the level of a true threat,” reasoning that
¶ 17 While pointing out that instructional error involving the elements of a crime may be harmless error, see State v. Brown, 147 Wash.2d 330, 340, 58 P.3d 889 (2002), the State nevertheless concedes that the error in this case cannot be deemed harmless beyond a reasonable doubt in light of the facts and the jury‘s inquiry. This concession is appropriate. The evidence presented at trial appears close on the question whether Johnston‘s statements constituted a true threat. Exacerbating the problem, the jury inquired whether it could convict based on the words alone, or whether it had to find that Johnston intended to carry out the threat. Because this inquiry was couched in the alternative, when the trial court responded that intent to carry out the threat was not an element of the crime,8 the jury could infer that the alternative was correct, i.e., that it could convict merely on the basis that Johnston said the words.9
¶ 18 Finally, Johnston contends that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of violating
¶ 19 Whether language constitutes a true threat is an issue of fact for the trier of fact in the first instance. United States v. Fulmer, 108 F.3d 1486, 1492 (1st Cir.1997); Khorrami, 895 F.2d at 1192; Melugin v. Homes, 38 F.3d 1478, 1485 (9th Cir.1994). However, as explained in Kilburn, a rule of independent appellate review applies in First Amendment speech cases. An appellate court “must `make an independent examination of the whole record, ...’ so as to assure [itself] that the judgment does not constitute a forbidden intrusion on the field of free expression.” Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d at 50, 84 P.3d 1215 (quoting Bose, 466 U.S. at 508, 104 S.Ct. 1949) (internal quotation marks omitted). The appellate court is required to independently review only “`crucial facts‘—those so intermingled with the legal question as to make it necessary, in order to pass on the constitutional question, to analyze the facts.” Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d at 50-51, 84 P.3d 1215. Thus, whether a statement constitutes a true
¶ 20 If, however, the trial proceedings are tainted by error, an appellate court may be unable to conduct an independent review of the record—for example, where inadmissible evidence that was admitted may have influenced the jury. Id. at 1088. In Johnston‘s case, the jury was influenced by the erroneous jury instructions that governed the trial. Under these circumstances, independent appellate review is inappropriate. Instead, this case must be remanded for a new trial under proper instructions.
CONCLUSION
¶ 21 We construe the bomb threat statute,
WE CONCUR: ALEXANDER, C.J., C. JOHNSON, BRIDGE, CHAMBERS, OWENS, FAIRHURST, J.M. JOHNSON.
SANDERS, J. (concurring in part, dissenting in part).
¶ 22 I concur the jury was misinstructed but would dismiss, not remand. As conceded by the majority, a rule of independent appellate review applies in First Amendment cases, majority at 712 (citing State v. Kilburn, 151 Wash.2d 36, 50, 84 P.3d 1215 (2004)) and “whether a statement constitutes a true threat is a matter subject to independent review.” Majority at 712-713. Independent review may be inappropriate when inadmissible evidence was considered; however, where the error is in the jury instructions and the evidence would be the same on retrial, I can see no reason why we should not independently review the evidence to determine whether in the interest of free speech the speaker should be spared the burden of yet another trial. Nor does the majority cite authority to the effect that a new trial may be forced absent independent review.
¶ 23 Based on an independent review of the record, I conclude Mr. Johnston is correct that there is insufficient evidence of a true threat and would therefore reverse and dismiss.
Notes
The Seventh Circuit has expressly stated that its test in Khorrami, which we have adopted, is a speaker-based test. In United States v. Saunders, 166 F.3d 907, 913 (7th Cir.1999), for example, the court quoted the standard from Khorrami and explained that “[t]his objective standard presented in Khorrami focuses on whether a reasonable speaker would foresee that the recipient of his words would take the statement seriously.” Id. at 913.
The Court held that Virginia could criminalize cross burning with the intent to intimidate “because burning a cross is a particularly virulent form of intimidation.” Black, 538 U.S. at 363, 123 S.Ct. 1536. But the Court also held that the statutory presumption rendered the law unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it permitted a conviction solely on the basis of cross burning, although cross burning may have one of two meanings—either constitutionally proscribable intimidation or constitutionally protected core political speech (a statement of ideology). Id. at 364-67, 123 S.Ct. 1536; id. at 384-87, 123 S.Ct. 1536 (Souter, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).