In Re Zardies B.

Zardies B., a minor, appeals the order committing him to the. California Youth Authority (CYA).

On January 9, 1976, at about 9 a.m., Zardies and eight other boys stood outside a classroom at Wilson Junior High School, yelling and talking. The teacher in the classroom, Perriana Azevedo, asked them to leave. Zardies went into the classroom and when asked again by the teacher to leave, faced her at a foot’s distance and said in an angry and belligerent tone that he would “slap [her]... face in.” Although Azevedo did not think Zardies would carry out his threat, she thought he could have done so if he had wanted to. Zardies heeded Azevedo’s third request that he leave and continued his heckling from the hall. The class was disrupted for about 15 minutes. Zardies was charged and a true finding was made that he had threatened a public officer (Pen. Code, §71).

On appeal Zardies contends Penal Code section 71 is not intended to apply to this kind of situation and does not proscribe his conduct. Penal Code section 71 reads in part: “Every person who, with intent to cause, attempts to cause, or causes, any officer or employee of any public or private educational institution or…