State of Nebraska v. John T. Bryant, Sr.

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed John T. Bryant Sr.'s convictions for terroristic threats, third-degree assault, and intimidation by phone call. The court held that sufficient evidence supported the convictions, explaining that Nebraska's terroristic-threat statute does not require an imminent threat and that a threat may be inferred from words, conduct, and context. The court also held that a person may violate the intimidation-by-phone-call statute by calling back to continue a conversation and making a threat shortly after the call begins.

Holdings

1. The evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find that Bryant threatened to commit a crime of violence with the requisite intent to terrorize K.B. or with reckless disregard of the risk of causing terror. A terroristic threat need not involve imminent violence, facially unambiguous words, or an intent to carry out the threat; the existence of a threat may be determined from the context of the interaction.
2. The evidence was sufficient to support Bryant's conviction for third-degree assault because the jury could find that he threatened K.B. in a menacing manner by promising bodily harm in a manner intentionally causing a reasonable person in her position to apprehend such harm.
3. A person “telephones” an individual under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1310(1)(b) when the person speaks to or attempts to reach that individual by telephone; the statute does not require that the call be a newly initiated conversation or occur within a particular period after a call initiated by the victim.
4. The evidence was sufficient for the jury to infer that Bryant telephoned K.B. with intent to intimidate, threaten, or harass, despite evidence that the preceding call had been initiated by K.B. and had allegedly dropped.

Questions Presented

1. Whether sufficient evidence supported Bryant's conviction for terroristic threats under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-311.01.
2. Whether sufficient evidence supported Bryant's conviction for assault in the third degree under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-310(1)(b).
3. Whether sufficient evidence supported Bryant's conviction for intimidation by phone call under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1310(1)(b), where the relevant call followed a call initiated by the victim that had allegedly been dropped.

Disposition

affirmed