Richard C. Jones v. United States (September 17, 2015)
The players: Judges Fisher and Beckwith, Senior Judge Farrell. Opinion by Judge Beckwith. Separate concurrence by Judge Beckwith. Nicholas Q. Elton for Mr. Jones. Trial Judge: Robert E. Morin.
The Facts: The appellant was convicted in a bench trial of attempted threats. In a hallway in Superior Court after a hearing where the complainant – the guardian ad litem for the appellant’s daughter – had recommended that the appellant should be permitted only supervised visits with the daughter, the appellant said to the complainant, “I’m going to smack the shit out of you,” and then proceeded to get loud.
Issues of note (others are omitted):
On plain error review, the appellant argued that attempted threats was not a valid crime because all attempts require a specific intent to put someone in fear and yet the DCCA has held that a completed threat is a so-called general intent crime that requires no such intent. The Court rejected this argument based on precedent that an attempted threat is a valid offense, and precedent upholding attempts to commit so-called general intent crimes.
The appellant also challenged the sufficiency of the evidence. The Court analyzed this claim on the assumption that the offense required “a specific intent to threaten” and not just an intent to speak words that are, objectively speaking, threatening to the hearer. It did so to avoid any conflict with Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015), which held that the federal threats statute requires that a defendant “transmit[] a communication for the purpose of issuing a threat, or with knowledge that the communication will be viewed as a threat.” The same issue (with respect to the D.C. statute) is now being litigated before the en banc Court in Carrell v. United States, 80 A.3d 163 (D.C. 2013), vacated, reh’g en banc granted. See our blog post on Carrell here. The Court found the evidence sufficient.
Judge Beckwith’s Concurrence: Concurring with herself, Judge Beckwith wrote separately to flag an inconsistency in D.C. law. In Braxton v. United States, 500 U.S. 344 (1991), the Supreme Court stated that the elements “for an ‘attempt’ at common law … include a specific intent to commit the unlawful act.” D.C. cases, however, say inconsistent things on this very point. She catalogs the various statements in the various cases. SF
On plain error review, the appellant argued that attempted threats was not a valid crime because all attempts require a specific intent to put someone in fear and yet the DCCA has held that a completed threat is a so-called general intent crime that requires no such intent. The Court rejected this argument based on precedent that an attempted threat is a valid offense, and precedent upholding attempts to commit so-called general intent crimes.
The appellant also challenged the sufficiency of the evidence. The Court analyzed this claim on the assumption that the offense required “a specific intent to threaten” and not just an intent to speak words that are, objectively speaking, threatening to the hearer. It did so to avoid any conflict with Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015), which held that the federal threats statute requires that a defendant “transmit[] a communication for the purpose of issuing a threat, or with knowledge that the communication will be viewed as a threat.” The same issue (with respect to the D.C. statute) is now being litigated before the en banc Court in Carrell v. United States, 80 A.3d 163 (D.C. 2013), vacated, reh’g en banc granted. See our blog post on Carrell here. The Court found the evidence sufficient.
Judge Beckwith’s Concurrence: Concurring with herself, Judge Beckwith wrote separately to flag an inconsistency in D.C. law. In Braxton v. United States, 500 U.S. 344 (1991), the Supreme Court stated that the elements “for an ‘attempt’ at common law … include a specific intent to commit the unlawful act.” D.C. cases, however, say inconsistent things on this very point. She catalogs the various statements in the various cases. SF
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