People v. Brown

The state (plaintiff) charged James Brown (defendant) with the misdemeanor offenses of making a criminal threat and vandalism in connection with an incident that occurred on June 15, 1999, between James and his wife, Monique Brown. Evidence at trial showed that James was a former famous football player who kept a loaded gun by his bed. On June 15, officers responded to a 911 call from Monique, reporting domestic violence. Outside the home, Monique was very upset but rational and coherent; she relayed to officers that she and James had gotten into a fight about James’s suspected infidelity, he had threatened to kill her, and he had used a shovel to hit her car that was parked in the garage. Inside the home, officers arrested James and observed the shovel and vandalized car in the garage with dents and broken windows. At the police station, Monique cooperatively told officers about prior incidents of domestic violence. The jury heard Monique’s 911 call and saw video footage of the incident scene. On the stand, Monique minimized the events of June 15, claimed that she had instigated or provoked James, denied that he had threatened to kill her, disclaimed any prior incidents of domestic violence, and testified that she had “dared” James to break the car, effectively giving him permission to do it. According to Monique, the car was titled in her name but actually owned by James’s corporation. The jury acquitted James of the criminal-threat offense but convicted him of vandalism. At sentencing, the trial court indicated that it would impose a 12-month domestic-violence counseling program as a mandatory term of probation, discussing how James’s conduct was tremendously violent and done with the intent to impact Monique. On hearing this, James rejected probation. The court then imposed the maximum jail sentence of six months, considering the nature of the offense, James’s attitude, and his character traits. James appealed, challenging the probation term and sentence.