U.S. v. Richards, CRIM.A. 05-CR-0151.
| Decision Date | 18 November 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. CRIM.A. 05-CR-0151.,CRIM.A. 05-CR-0151. |
| Citation | 415 F.Supp.2d 547 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. Maurice RICHARDS |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Elizabeth T. Hey, Federal Defenders, Philadelphia, PA, for Maurice Richards.
Defendant Maurice Richards is charged with one count of knowingly and willfully threatening to kill and inflict bodily harm upon Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the wife of former President William Jefferson Clinton, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 879(a)(1). (Indictment, Doc. No. 14.)
On January 24, 2005, Defendant was at Our Brother's Place homeless shelter, located at 907 Hamilton Street in Philadelphia. (Nov. 7, 2005 Trial Tr. at 25:21-26:10.) At approximately 5:00 p.m. that day, Defendant was waiting in line at the shelter, along with other "walk-ins," for dinner. (Id.) From his office near the dinner line, Marc Miller, a counselor at the shelter, observed Defendant repeatedly speak into his Walkman radio and then hold it to his ear. (Id.) Miller heard Defendant say, "I'm gonna put two bullets into her, gonna put two bullets into Hillary Clinton."1 (Id. at 26:13-16.) Defendant's statement was loud enough so that Miller heard the statements from his office over the voices of the other approximately thirty individuals waiting in the meal line. (Id. at 29:18-30:6.) When Miller came out of his office, he noticed that when Defendant could see him, Defendant stopped making the statements, but would resume making the statements when Miller was out of his line of sight. (Id. at 31:7-18.) Miller did not hear any sound coming from Defendant's radio. (Id. at 31:19-21.) Miller approached Defendant and asked him if he would like to accompany Miller into his office to talk. (Id. at 33:16-35:12.) Defendant refused, stating, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'll stop." (Id. at 33:7-11.) The other individuals standing in the meal line looked uneasy, and some looked away from Defendant while others moved away from him. (Id. at 32:6-10, 74:22-75:3, 92:5-13.)
Miller then sought out Alexandra Blitman, a mental health clinician at the shelter, because he thought that Defendant might have some mental health issues. (Id. at 35:14-36:18.) As Miller walked to Blitman's office, Miller heard Defendant repeat the phrase, "I'm gonna put two bullets into Senator Clinton." (Id. at 39:15-21.) After speaking with Blitman, Miller returned to his office but kept his door open and stood near the door. (Id. at 40:10-20.) When Blitman approached Defendant, he said to her, "Get the fuck away from me, white girl."2 (Id. at 98:1-20.) Miller observed Defendant gesturing towards Blitman "in a hostile manner." (Trial Ex. G-3.) As Blitman walked away from Defendant, she heard Defendant say, "Take three bullets and put them in Hillary Clinton." (Trial Tr. at 98:1-20.) Defendant also said, "I'm going to kill that white woman devil." (Trial Ex. G-2.)
Miller notified the building's security that there was a "potential issue" with Defendant. (Id. at 43:21-44:20.) He also discussed the situation with the shelter supervisor, Fred Purdie. (Id. at 44:22-45:10.) Miller thought that Purdie, an African-American, might have "better luck" than he and Blitman had in speaking with Defendant. (Id.) Purdie brought Defendant to the day room office at the shelter, where Miller was waiting. (Id. at 48:2-4.) Defendant was angry. (Id. at 115:24-116:1.) At this point, Miller was turning red and looked afraid. (Id. at 116:7-14.) In the office, Miller attempted to speak to Defendant. Defendant became defensive and told Miller that he did not want to speak with white people. (Id. at 49:4-12.) Defendant was agitated and made statements such as "I hate white people," and "screamed about cutting off white people's heads." (Id. at 49:14-50:2[missing text] 51:1-6.) There was another staff member in the day room office by the name of Brian who was alarmed by Defendant's statements. (Id. at 51:12-23.)
The shelter's staff decided that Defendant could not stay at the shelter because of "the potential threat to himself or other people." (Id. at 52:5-19.) Miller believed that Defendant "could be a potential threat to himself or others if he stayed overnight." (Id. at 54:8-14.) Purdie did not want Defendant around the other guests at the shelter because he might lose control. (Id. at 119:9-120:3.) A decision was made to take Defendant to a crisis center. One of the reasons Miller favored putting Defendant in a crisis center—instead of allowing him to stay at the shelter—was the fact that Defendant was threatening to kill people. (Id. at 81:14-19.) Purdie contacted the police to assist with the involuntary commitment of Defendant. (Id. at 121:2-10.)
Two police officers arrived at the shelter to escort Defendant to a crisis center. (Id. at 55:19-56:14.) Defendant "backed up" when the police came near him. (Id. 123:1-18.) He told the police to "get the fuck off me" and "don't touch me, you're going to break my arms." Id. After Defendant was handcuffed by the police, he accused the police of police brutality. (Id. 55:19-56:14.) He also screamed that he hated white people and "kill the white bitch devil." (Id.) Defendant was taken by the police to Hall Mercer Clinic at Pennsylvania Hospital. (Id. at 57:16-58:5.) At Hall Mercer, Miller applied to have Defendant involuntarily committed. (Id. at 60:23-61:12; Trial Ex. G-3.) While at Hall Mercer, Defendant continued to yell and scream that he hated white people and particularly Hillary Clinton. (Trial Tr. at 128:23-129:10.) He was perceived as "threatening" by an employee at Hall Mercer. (Id.)
Defendant was involuntarily committed until January 28, 2005. On January 28th, he was released from involuntary commitment and voluntarily re-entered the inpatient treatment program at Fairmount Behavioral Health. Senator Clinton was scheduled to visit Philadelphia on February 4, 2005. (Trial Ex. G-8.) Defendant was discharged from Fairmount on February 7, 2005, at which time he was arrested by the Secret Service on the instant charge. Defendant was indicted on March 16, 2005 for violating 18 U.S.C. § 879 by threatening to kill or inflict bodily harm on Senator Hillary Clinton, wife of the former President. On November 7, 2005, Defendant waived his right to a jury trial, and was tried non-jury.
Defendant is charged with violating § 879, which provides in pertinent part:
Whoever knowingly and willfully threatens to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon ... (1) a former President or a member of the immediate family of a former President ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
18 U.S.C. § 879 (2005). In order to establish Defendant's guilt in this matter, the Government must first establish that the threats made by Defendant were "true threats." True threats are not protected political speech under the First Amendment. United States v. Kosma, 951 F.2d 549, 553 (3d Cir.1991). In the case of Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705, 89 S.Ct. 1399, 22 L.Ed.2d 664 (1969), the Supreme Court examined the difference between true threats and protected speech in the context of 18 U.S.C. § 871, a statute with language very similar to the language of § 879. Section 871 provides in pertinent part:
Whoever knowingly and willfully ... makes any such threat [to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm] against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
18 U.S.C. § 871 (2005). The Watts Court declared that § 871's prohibition on threats was a constitutionally valid limitation on the First Amendment as long as the proscribed speech was limited to "true threats," as distinguished from constitutionally protected speech. Watts, 394 U.S. at 707-08, 89 S.Ct. 1399. In Watts, during a public rally on the Washington Monument grounds, Watts had stated: Watts, 394 U.S. at 706, 89 S.Ct. 1399. The Supreme Court determined that because the statement was made in the context of a political rally, because it was conditional in nature, and because the audience reacted by laughing, Watts's statements constituted protected speech. Id. at 707-08, 89 S.Ct. 1399. The Supreme Court recognized the necessity, and therefore the constitutionality, of a law that prohibits threats against the President: "The Nation undoubtedly has a valid, even an overwhelming, interest in protecting the safety of its Chief Executive and in allowing him to perform his duties without interference from threats of physical violence." Id. at 707, 89 S.Ct. 1399. Because § 871 makes a form of pure speech criminal, the Court explained that it must interpret the law "with the commands of the First Amendment clearly in mind," meaning that it must distinguish a "true threat" from constitutionally protected speech. Id. While the Court in Watts did not define a "true threat," it distinguished a true threat from Watts's constitutionally protected "political hyperbole," which was merely a "very crude offensive method of stating a political opposition to the President." Id. at 708, 89 S.Ct. 1399. The Court determined that, "[t]he appropriateness of such statements ... must be viewed `in context, and regarding the expressly conditional nature of the statement and the reaction of the listeners.'" Kosma, 951 F.2d at 553-54 (quoting Watts, 394 U.S. at 708, 89 S.Ct. 1399); see also United States v. Gordon, 974 F.2d 1110, 1117 (9th Cir.1992) (...
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...2011) (quoting Kosma, 951 F.2d at 559). Another example of willfully as interpreted and applied in this Circuit is United States v. Richards, 415 F.Supp.2d 547 (E.D.Pa.2005), rev'd on other grounds,271 Fed.Appx. 174 (3d Cir.2008). In that case, the district court held: “[T]he phrase ‘willfu......