Supreme Court of California
IN RE GEORGE T., S111780
Defendant-high school student's poetry given to other classmates is not classified as a criminal threat because the text of the poem, understood in light of the surrounding circumstances, is not so equivocal, unconditional, and specific as to convey an immediate execution of a threat.
Appellate Information
- Decided 07/22/2004
- Published 07/22/2004
Judges
- MORENO, J.
Court
- Supreme Court of California
Counsel
- For Appellees:
- Michael A. Kresser,Sixth District Appellate Project, Santa Clara, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant., Marsha Levick, Philadelphia, NY, Suzanne Meiners; Abigail Trillin and Sarah Colby, San Francisco, for Legal Services for Children, Juvenile Law Center, National Center for Youth Law and Legal Advocates for Children and Youth as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant., Susan L. Burrell, San Francisco, for Youth Law Center as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant., David Greene, Oakland; Ann Brick, San Francisco; Robert M. O'Neil, Joshua Wheeler, Charlottesville, VA; Michael Murphy, Munger Tolles & Olson, Los Angeles; Rohde & Victoroff, Stephen F. Rohde, Los Angeles; Joseph, Lichtenstein & Levinson, Burton Joseph; and Joan L. Bertin for J.M. Coetzee, Michael Chabon, Peter Straub, Harlan Ellison, George Garrett, Ayelet Waldman, Neil Gaiman, Jayne Lyn Stahl, Michael Rothenberg, Julia Stein, Greg Rucka, Floyd Salas, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, Feminists for Free Expression, First Amendment Project, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN American Center and PEN USA as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant., Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Manuel M. Medeiros, State Solicitor General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Ronald A. Bass and Gerald A. Engler, Assistant Attorneys General, Stan M. Helfman, Violet M. Lee and Jeffrey M. Laurence, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.