WPIC 126.16 False Reporting—Elements
11A WAPRAC WPIC 126.16Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal
11A Wash. Prac., Pattern Jury Instr. Crim. WPIC 126.16 (5th Ed)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal
January 2024 Update
Part XIII. Miscellaneous Crimes
WPIC CHAPTER 126. Public Disturbance
WPIC 126.16 False Reporting—Elements
To convict the defendant of the crime of false reporting, each of the following elements of the crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) That on or about (date), the defendant initiated or circulated a false report or warning of an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of [a fire] [an explosion] [a crime] [a catastrophe] [an emergency];
(2) That the defendant knew that the information reported, conveyed, or circulated was false;
(3) That the defendant knew that the false report was likely [to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or transportation facility] [or] [to cause public inconvenience or alarm]; and
(4) That this act occurred in the [State of Washington] [City of ] [County of ].
If you find from the evidence that each of these elements has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of guilty.
On the other hand, if, after weighing all of the evidence, you have a reasonable doubt as to any one of these elements, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of not guilty.
NOTE ON USE
Use bracketed material as applicable.
Use WPIC 10.02 (Knowledge—Knowingly—Definition) with this instruction.
In element (4), choose from among the bracketed phrases depending on whether the case is in superior, municipal, or district court. See WPIC 4.20 (Introduction). For a discussion of the phrase “this act” in element (4), see WPIC 4.20 (Introduction) and the Note on Use to WPIC 4.21 (Elements of the Crime—Form).
COMMENT
RCW 9A.84.040.
This statutory limitation on speech is the type of restriction referred to in Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S.Ct. 247, 63 L.Ed. 470 (1919), which holds that free speech does not protect a person in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.
RCW 9.40.100 is a similar statute making it a misdemeanor to willfully and without having reasonable grounds for believing a fire exists, send, give, transmit, or sound any false alarm of fire, by shouting in a public place, or by means of any public or private fire alarm system or signal, or by telephone.
[Current as of September 2019.]
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