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State Statutes Criminalizing Speech and Due-Process Rights Violations VARIOUS STATE LAWS CRIMINALIZE threats or exactions of penalties from anyone in order to coerce changes in testimony-- including testimony on a tax return-- to what the coercing criminal wishes to see. On this page will be found the collected statutes to this effect from each state of the union, as they are identified and accumulated. These resources can be used to make knowledgeable and well-prepared demands of state officials to initiate prosecutions against violators. Click on the appropriate link below to find your home state statute. If you don't find your state listed, please research its criminal statutes yourself, find the one that applies to this heinous criminal behavior, and send it to me for inclusion below by use of the "contact" link at the very top of this page. ***** h/t Ron Greer 2014 Arkansas Code Title 5, Subtitle 5, Chapter 53 Subchapter 1 - General Provisions § 5-53-109 - Intimidating a witness. (a) A person commits the offense of intimidating a witness if he or she threatens a witness or a person he or she believes may be called as a witness with the purpose of: (1) Influencing the testimony of that person; (2) Inducing that person to avoid legal process summoning that person to testify; or (3) Inducing that person to absent himself or herself from an official proceeding to which that person has been legally summoned. (b) Intimidating a witness is a Class C felony. ***** h/t Ruben Valera California Penal Code, PEN §§ 518-527 - Extortion 518. Extortion is the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right. 519. Fear, such as will constitute extortion, may be induced by a threat, either: 1. To do an unlawful injury to the person or property of the individual threatened or of a third person; or, 2. To accuse the individual threatened, or any relative of his, or member of his family, of any crime; or, 3. To expose, or to impute to him or them any deformity, disgrace or crime; or, 4. To expose any secret affecting him or them. 520. Every person who extorts any money or other property from another, under circumstances not amounting to robbery or carjacking, by means of force, or any threat, such as is mentioned in Section 519, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years. 521. Every person who commits any extortion under color of official right, in cases for which a different punishment is not prescribed in this Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 522. Every person who, by any extortionate means, obtains from another his signature to any paper or instrument, whereby, if such signature were freely given, any property would be transferred, or any debt, demand, charge, or right of action created, is punishable in the same manner as if the actual delivery of such debt, demand, charge, or right of action were obtained. 523. Every person who, with intent to extort any money or other property from another, sends or delivers to any person any letter or other writing, whether subscribed or not, expressing or implying, or adapted to imply, any threat such as is specified in Section 519, is punishable in the same manner as if such money or property were actually obtained by means of such threat. 524. Every person who attempts, by means of any threat, such as is specified in Section 519 of this code, to extort money or other property from another is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not longer than one year or in the state prison or by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment. 525. Upon conviction of a felony violation under this chapter, the fact that the victim was an elder or dependent person, as defined in Section 288, shall be considered a circumstance in aggravation when imposing a term under subdivision (b) of Section 1170. 526. Any person, who, with intent to obtain from another person any money, article of personal property or other thing of value, delivers or causes to be delivered to the other person any paper, document or written, typed or printed form purporting to be an order or other process of a court, or designed or calculated by its writing, typing or printing, or the arrangement thereof, to cause or lead the other person to believe it to be an order or other process of a court, when in fact such paper, document or written, typed or printed form is not an order or process of a court, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and each separate delivery of any paper, document or written, typed or printed form shall constitute a separate offense. 527. Any person who shall sell or offer for sale, print, publish, or distribute any paper, document or written, typed or printed form, designed or calculated by its writing, typing or printing, or the arrangement thereof, to cause or lead any person to believe it to be, or that it will be used as an order or other process of a court when in fact such paper, document or written, typed or printed form is not to be used as the order or process of a court, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and each separate publication, printing, distribution, sale or offer to sell any such paper, document or written, typed or printed form shall constitute a separate offense, and upon conviction thereof in addition to any other sentence imposed the court may order that all such papers or documents or written, typed or printed forms in the possession or under the control of the person found guilty of such misdemeanor shall be delivered to such court or the clerk thereof for destruction. California Code, Penal Code - PEN §§ 118-131 – Perjury and Subornation of Perjury 118. (a) Every person who, having taken an oath that he or she will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly before any competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any of the cases in which the oath may by law of the State of California be administered, willfully and contrary to the oath, states as true any material matter which he or she knows to be false, and every person who testifies, declares, deposes, or certifies under penalty of perjury in any of the cases in which the testimony, declarations, depositions, or certification is permitted by law of the State of California under penalty of perjury and willfully states as true any material matter which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of perjury. This subdivision is applicable whether the statement, or the testimony, declaration, deposition, or certification is made or subscribed within or without the State of California. (b) No person shall be convicted of perjury where proof of falsity rests solely upon contradiction by testimony of a single person other than the defendant. Proof of falsity may be established by direct or indirect evidence. 118a. Any person who, in any affidavit taken before any person authorized to administer oaths, swears, affirms, declares, deposes, or certifies that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify before any competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case then pending or thereafter to be instituted, in any particular manner, or to any particular fact, and in such affidavit willfully and contrary to such oath states as true any material matter which he knows to be false, is guilty of perjury. In any prosecution under this section, the subsequent testimony of such person, in any action involving the matters in such affidavit contained, which is contrary to any of the matters in such affidavit contained, shall be prima facie evidence that the matters in such affidavit were false. 119. The term "oath," as used in the last two sections, includes an affirmation and every other mode authorized by law of attesting the truth of that which is stated. 120. So much of an oath of office as relates to the future performance of official duties is not such an oath as is intended by the two preceding sections. 121. It is no defense to a prosecution for perjury that the oath was administered or taken in an irregular manner, or that the person accused of perjury did not go before, or was not in the presence of, the officer purporting to administer the oath, if such accused caused or procured such officer to certify that the oath had been taken or administered. 122. It is no defense to a prosecution for perjury that the accused was not competent to give the testimony, deposition, or certificate of which falsehood is alleged. It is sufficient that he did give such testimony or make such deposition or certificate. 123. It is no defense to a prosecution for perjury that the accused did not know the materiality of the false statement made by him; or that it did not, in fact, affect the proceeding in or for which it was made. It is sufficient that it was material, and might have been used to affect such proceeding. 124. The making of a deposition, affidavit or certificate is deemed to be complete, within the provisions of this chapter, from the time when it is delivered by the accused to any other person, with the intent that it be uttered or published as true. 125. An unqualified statement of that which one does not know to be true is equivalent to a statement of that which one knows to be false. 126. Perjury is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years. 127. Every person who willfully procures another person to commit perjury is guilty of subornation of perjury, and is punishable in the same manner as he would be if personally guilty of the perjury so procured. 129. Every person who, being required by law to make any return, statement, or report, under oath, willfully makes and delivers any such return, statement, or report, purporting to be under oath, knowing the same to be false in any particular, is guilty of perjury, whether such oath was in fact taken or not. California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 484 - Theft (a) Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, carry, lead, or drive away the personal property of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property, or who causes or procures others to report falsely of his or her wealth or mercantile character and by thus imposing upon any person, obtains credit and thereby fraudulently gets or obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft. In determining the value of the property obtained, for the purposes of this section, the reasonable and fair market value shall be the test, and in determining the value of services received the contract price shall be the test. If there be no contract price, the reasonable and going wage for the service rendered shall govern. For the purposes of this section, any false or fraudulent representation or pretense made shall be treated as continuing, so as to cover any money, property or service received as a result thereof, and the complaint, information or indictment may charge that the crime was committed on any date during the particular period in question. The hiring of any additional employee or employees without advising each of them of every labor claim due and unpaid and every judgment that the employer has been unable to meet shall be prima facie evidence of intent to defraud. California Penal Code, PEN § 182 – Conspiracy (a) If two or more persons conspire: (1) To commit any crime. (2) Falsely and maliciously to indict another for any crime, or to procure another to be charged or arrested for any crime. (3) Falsely to move or maintain any suit, action, or proceeding. (4) To cheat and defraud any person of any property, by any means which are in themselves criminal, or to obtain money or property by false pretenses or by false promises with fraudulent intent not to perform those promises. (5) To commit any act injurious to the public health, to public morals, or to pervert or obstruct justice, or the due administration of the laws. (6) To commit any crime against the person of the President or Vice President of the United States, the Governor of any state or territory, any United States justice or judge, or the secretary of any of the executive departments of the United States. They are punishable as follows: When they conspire to commit any crime against the person of any official specified in paragraph (6), they are guilty of a felony and are punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for five, seven, or nine years. When they conspire to commit any other felony, they shall be punishable in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided for the punishment of that felony. If the felony is one for which different punishments are prescribed for different degrees, the jury or court which finds the defendant guilty thereof shall determine the degree of the felony the defendant conspired to commit. If the degree is not so determined, the punishment for conspiracy to commit the felony shall be that prescribed for the lesser degree, except in the case of conspiracy to commit murder, in which case the punishment shall be that prescribed for murder in the first degree. If the felony is conspiracy to commit two or more felonies which have different punishments and the commission of those felonies constitute but one offense of conspiracy, the penalty shall be that prescribed for the felony which has the greater maximum term. When they conspire to do an act described in paragraph (4), they shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. When they conspire to do any of the other acts described in this section, they shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. When they receive a felony conviction for conspiring to commit identity theft, as defined in Section 530.5 , the court may impose a fine of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). All cases of conspiracy may be prosecuted and tried in the superior court of any county in which any overt act tending to effect the conspiracy shall be done. (b) Upon a trial for conspiracy, in a case where an overt act is necessary to constitute the offense, the defendant cannot be convicted unless one or more overt acts are expressly alleged in the indictment or information, nor unless one of the acts alleged is proved; but other overt acts not alleged may be given in evidence. ***** SUBDIVISION 15. INTIMIDATION (Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11.) (720 ILCS 5/12-6) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-6) Sec. 12-6. Intimidation. (a) A person commits intimidation when, with intent to cause another to perform or to omit the performance of any act, he or she communicates to another, directly or indirectly by any means, a threat to perform without lawful authority any of the following acts: (1) Inflict physical harm on the person threatened or any other person or on property; or (2) Subject any person to physical confinement or restraint; or (3) Commit a felony or Class A misdemeanor; or (4) Accuse any person of an offense; or (5) Expose any person to hatred, contempt or ridicule; or (6) Take action as a public official against anyone or anything, or withhold official action, or cause such action or withholding; or (7) Bring about or continue a strike, boycott or other collective action. (b) Sentence. Intimidation is a Class 3 felony for which an offender may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 2 years and not more than 10 years. (Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11.) ***** 750.213 Malicious threats to extort money. Sec. 213. Malicious threats to extort money—Any person who shall, either orally or by a written or printed communication, maliciously threaten to accuse another of any crime or offense, or shall orally or by any written or printed communication maliciously threaten any injury to the person or property or mother, father, husband, wife or child of another with intent thereby to extort money or any pecuniary advantage whatever, or with intent to compel the person so threatened to do or refrain from doing any act against his will, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 20 years or by a fine of not more than 10,000 dollars. *** 750.122 Prohibited acts; witnesses; threat or intimidation; affirmative defense; violation as felony; penalties; applicability of section; definitions. Sec. 122. ... (3) A person shall not do any of the following by threat or intimidation: (a) Discourage or attempt to discourage any individual from attending a present or future official proceeding as a witness, testifying at a present or future official proceeding, or giving information at a present or future official proceeding. (b) Influence or attempt to influence testimony at a present or future official proceeding. (c) Encourage or attempt to encourage any individual to avoid legal process, to withhold testimony, or to testify falsely in a present or future official proceeding. (4) It is an affirmative defense under subsections (1) and (3), for which the defendant has the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, that the conduct consisted solely of lawful conduct and that the defendant's sole intention was to encourage, induce, or cause the other person to testify or provide evidence truthfully. (5) Subsections (1) and (3) do not apply to any of the following: (a) The lawful conduct of an attorney in the performance of his or her duties, such as advising a client. (b) The lawful conduct or communications of a person as permitted by statute or other lawful privilege. (6) A person shall not willfully impede, interfere with, prevent, or obstruct or attempt to willfully impede, interfere with, prevent, or obstruct the ability of a witness to attend, testify, or provide information in or for a present or future official proceeding. (7) A person who violates this section is guilty of a crime as follows: (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both. (b) If the violation is committed in a criminal case for which the maximum term of imprisonment for the violation is more than 10 years, or the violation is punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than $20,000.00, or both. (c) If the violation involves committing or attempting to commit a crime or a threat to kill or injure any person or to cause property damage, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than $25,000.00, or both. (8) A person who retaliates, attempts to retaliate, or threatens to retaliate against another person for having been a witness in an official proceeding is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than $20,000.00, or both. As used in this subsection, “retaliate” means to do any of the following: (a) Commit or attempt to commit a crime against any person. (b) Threaten to kill or injure any person or threaten to cause property damage. (9) This section applies regardless of whether an official proceeding actually takes place or is pending or whether the individual has been subpoenaed or otherwise ordered to appear at the official proceeding if the person knows or has reason to know the other person could be a witness at any official proceeding. (10) This section does not prohibit a person from being charged with, convicted of, or punished for any other violation of law arising out of the same transaction as the violation of this section. (11) The court may order a term of imprisonment imposed for violating this section to be served consecutively to a term of imprisonment imposed for the commission of any other crime including any other violation of law arising out of the same transaction as the violation of this section. (12) As used in this section: (a) “Official proceeding” means a proceeding heard before a legislative, judicial, administrative, or other governmental agency or official authorized to hear evidence under oath, including a referee, prosecuting attorney, hearing examiner, commissioner, notary, or other person taking testimony or deposition in that proceeding. (b) “Threaten or intimidate” does not mean a communication regarding the otherwise lawful access to courts or other branches of government, such as the otherwise lawful filing of any civil action or police report of which the purpose is not to harass the other person in violation of section 2907 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.2907. *** 750.423 Perjury; penalty; "record" and "signed" defined. Sec. 423. (1) Any person authorized by a statute of this state to take an oath, or any person of whom an oath is required by law, who willfully swears falsely in regard to any matter or thing respecting which the oath is authorized or required is guilty of perjury, a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years. (2) Subsection (1) applies to a person who willfully makes a false declaration in a record that is signed by the person and given under penalty of perjury. As used in this subsection: (a) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. (b) "Signed" means the person did either of the following to authenticate or adopt the record: (i) Executed or adopted a tangible symbol. (ii) Attached to or logically associated with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process. 750.424 Subornation of perjury. Sec. 424. Subornation of perjury—Any person who shall be guilty of subornation of perjury, by procuring another person to commit the crime of perjury, shall be punished as provided in the next preceding section. 750.425 Inciting or procuring one to commit perjury. Sec. 425. Inciting or procuring one to commit perjury—Any person who shall endeavor to incite or procure any person to commit the crime of perjury, though no perjury be committed, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 5 years. ***** h/t Steven Jones N.Y. PEN. LAW § 135.60 : NY Code - Section 135.60: Coercion in the second degree A person is guilty of coercion in the second degree when he or she compels or induces a person to engage in conduct which the latter has a legal right to abstain from engaging in, or to abstain from engaging in conduct in which he or she has a legal right to engage, or compels or induces a person to join a group, organization or criminal enterprise which such latter person has a right to abstain from joining, by means of instilling in him or her a fear that, if the demand is not complied with, the actor or another will: 1. Cause physical injury to a person; or 2. Cause damage to property; or 3. Engage in other conduct constituting a crime; or 4. Accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against him or her; or 5. Expose a secret or publicize an asserted fact, whether true or false, tending to subject some person to hatred, contempt or ridicule; or 6. Cause a strike, boycott or other collective labor group action injurious to some person's business; except that such a threat shall not be deemed coercive when the act or omission compelled is for the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor purports to act; or 7. Testify or provide information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another's legal claim or defense; or 8. Use or abuse his or her position as a public servant by performing some act within or related to his or her official duties, or by failing or refusing to perform an official duty, in such manner as to affect some person adversely; or 9. Perform any other act which would not in itself materially benefit the actor but which is calculated to harm another person materially with respect to his or her health, safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation or personal relationships. Coercion in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. *** N.Y. PEN. LAW § 135.65 : NY Code - Section 135.65: Coercion in the first degree A person is guilty of coercion in the first degree when he or she commits the crime of coercion in the second degree, and when: 1. He or she commits such crime by instilling in the victim a fear that he or she will cause physical injury to a person or cause damage to property; or 2. He or she thereby compels or induces the victim to: (a) Commit or attempt to commit a felony; or (b) Cause or attempt to cause physical injury to a person; or (c) Violate his or her duty as a public servant. Coercion in the first degree is a class D felony. ***** Oregon Laws/Criminal Procedures/Chapter 163 Offenses Against Persons § 163.275 Coercion (1) A person commits the crime of coercion when the person compels or induces another person to engage in conduct from which the other person has a legal right to abstain, or to abstain from engaging in conduct in which the other person has a legal right to engage, by means of instilling in the other person a fear that, if the other person refrains from the conduct compelled or induced or engages in conduct contrary to the compulsion or inducement, the actor or another will: (a) Unlawfully cause physical injury to some person; (b) Unlawfully cause damage to property; (c) Engage in conduct constituting a crime; (d) Falsely accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against the person; (e) Cause or continue a strike, boycott or other collective action injurious to some persons business, except that such a threat is not deemed coercive when the act or omission compelled is for the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor purports to act; (f) Testify falsely or provide false information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another's legal claim or defense; or (g) Unlawfully use or abuse the person's position as a public servant by performing some act within or related to official duties, or by failing or refusing to perform an official duty, in such manner as to affect some person adversely. (2) Coercion is a Class C felony. [1971 c.743 §102; 1983 c.546 §4; 1985 c.338 §1; 2007 c.71 §45] ***** h/t James Lambert Chapter 039 : Extortion And Threats § 1701. Definition and penalty A person who maliciously threatens to accuse another of a crime or offense, or with an injury to his or her person or property, with intent to extort money or other pecuniary advantage, or with intent to compel the person so threatened to do an act against his or her will, shall be imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $500.00, or both. (Amended 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 1973, No. 109, § 6; 1981, No. 223 (Adj. Sess.), § 23.) Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedures Subchapter 001 § 2651. Definitions (2) "Coercion" means: (A) threat of serious harm, including physical or financial harm, to or physical restraint against any person; (B) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious bodily or financial harm to or physical restraint of any person; (C) the abuse or threatened abuse of law or the legal process; (D) withholding, destroying, or confiscating any actual or purported passport, immigration document, or any other government identification document of another person; (E) providing a drug, including alcohol, to another person with the intent to impair the person's judgment or maintain a state of chemical dependence; (F) wrongfully taking, obtaining, or withholding any property of another person; (G) blackmail; (H) asserting control over the finances of another person; (I) debt bondage; or (J) withholding or threatening to withhold food or medication. ***** h/t Dan Struthers RCW 9A.36.070 Coercion. (1) A person is guilty of coercion if by use of a threat he or she compels or induces a person to engage in conduct which the latter has a legal right to abstain from, or to abstain from conduct which he or she has a legal right to engage in. 2) "Threat" as used in this section means: (a) To communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent immediately to use force against any person who is present at the time; or (b) Threats as defined in *RCW 9A.04.110(27) (a), (b), or (c). (3) Coercion is a gross misdemeanor. |