Can a student be charged with disorderly conduct by telling a teacher that if he says one more word he will punch him in the face?
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Can a student be charged with disorderly conduct by telling a teacher that if he says one more word he will punch him in the face?
A student at a local junior high told a teacher who made him upset, that if he said one more word he would punch him in the face. The teacher was told that this is a conditional threat, and would be harder to prosecute. No one else was around and did not hear the student making the threat. The local sheriff’s department stated that a citation could be written, but it would probably go nowhere.
Asked on April 30, 2011 under Criminal Law, Texas
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The student could be charged with assault and not just the lesser charge of disorderly conduct. Assault is intentionally placing one in reasonable apprehension of an immediate battery without consent or legal privilege. It does not matter that the threat is conditional or that no physical contact occurred.
Assault is both criminal and civil which means that in addition to criminal charges against the student, the teacher could file a lawsuit for assault (civil case) against the student and the student's parents seeking monetary damages (compensation).
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