State v. Pauling

Molotov F. Pauling was convicted of second degree extortion under former RCW 9A.56.130 (1975) for threatening to disseminate and, in actuality, disseminating nude photos of a former girl friend to collect a valid $5,000 small claims court judgment he had against her. The Court of Appeals, stating that the statute lacked a requirement that the threat be wrongful, declared former RCW 9A-.56.130 unconstitutionally overbroad because it prohibited threats that constituted protected speech and reversed Pauling’s conviction. We hold that a limiting construction is available, requiring that the…