State v. Lance

After a jury trial in the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District, appellant, John Fesler Lance, was convicted of violating Section 45-5-203(1)(b), MCA (1983) 1 which provides:

“A person commits the offense of intimidation when, with the purpose to cause another to perform or to omit the performance of any act, he communicates to another a threat to perform without lawful authority any of the following acts:

“(b) subject any person to physical confinement or restraint.” On appeal, Lance contends that this statute is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment, and he claims that…