Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Minnesota

Re: Death Threat

If you get a death threat from anyone, don't stop to wonder whether ADD, ODD, ADHD, Bipolar or anything else has anything to do with it. Don't psychoanalyze or try to explain it away. Inform. Tell school authorities immediately. Tell your parents immediately. They should inform the police immediately. Anyone making a death threat must learn that, even if they are not serious, everyone else will treat it as very, very serious. You may be saving a life, and at least may be helping the kid get the help he needs.

Get the other three girls and, immediately, inform school authorities and your parents. Treat it as deadly serious, even if you don't believe he is up to carrying out the threat.

Re: Death Threat

I generally agree with Mr. Mitchell, but I want to add that whether the boy's statement really was a death threat depends upon what he said and in what context.

People often say "I'm going to kill you" or words to that effect in a context that makes it clear both that they don't intend to do any harm and that they don't expect to be taken literally. Such conduct is more common among youngsters than it is among adults. The law recognizes the difference between that sort of statement and an actual threat.