YOU BE THE JUDGE: People v John Jones
On September 10, 2010, the New Orleans police respond to a 911 call from Mary
Smith claiming that her live-in boyfriend, John Jones, punched her in the face after an argument. The victim has a swollen, broken jaw. The house shows signs of a scuffle. Mary tells the police that John came home drunk and screamed at her, waking up their one-year-old son. She tried to calm John down, but he became angrier, hit her, and left the residence.
John is charged with and pleads guilty to Second Degree Battery, a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison or up to 5 years of probation. The sentence may be suspended. John is ordered not to have any contact with Mary.
YOU ARE THE JUDGE FOR SENTENCING. Probation reports that in the past 5 years, John has been arrested twice for Domestic Violence, and twice for misdemeanors, Public Intoxication and Disturbing the Peace. Court records show that John’s ex-wife alleged domestic violence by John, but there were no arrests.
The ex-wife tells Probation that John “is a rotten bastard, mean when he’s drunk, and he was smart enough to abuse me where nobody could see it.”
Mary, age 22, tells Probation that she and John have lived together for 3 years.
They have one child and Mary is 5 months pregnant. John has been continuously employed. Mary is unemployed but working on her GED. Their relationship has had “its ups and downs.” John is suspicious of her relationships with her girl friends and frequently questions Mary’s whereabouts. Twice, she discovered John following her when she went out with her friends.
Mary reports that when John drinks, he can be verbally abusive and berates her.
Last year, when John was drunk, he got angry, frightened Mary and pushed her.
John was arrested for misdemeanor Battery, but the prosecutor dropped the charges at Mary’s request. Mary said that she and John paid no attention to the court-ordered “stay away” order in that case. This time, Mary says that John has
“only tried to contact her once.” She did not tell the authorities. Mary wants to remain away from John for now, but she would like to reconcile in the future. She hopes the court will order family counseling. She does not want John to go to jail.

Mary’s mother and sister tell Probation that John has been drinking more in the past year and has become increasingly suspicious of Mary. He has been verbally abusive to her in their presence. They fear for Mary’s safety and have tried to dissuade Mary from reconciliation, but acknowledge that “she loves him, and will probably go back to him.”
John, age 27, tells Probation that he is not an abuser. He denies “unprovoked” abuse. Growing up, John saw his father slap his mother and “that really bothered him.” Regarding his past arrests, John says that he had been “out with the boys, had a few drinks and came home late.” Mary accused him of seeing another woman, became belligerent, threw things at him, and he “reacted”. The second time, he punched Mary because she “was running to get a knife” and “because he had been drinking.”
John denies increasing use of alcohol. John says he drinks “a few beers maybe every other month.” He denies violating any court-ordered “stay away” orders.
He pled guilty in this case because his lawyer told him to or “this SOB of a judge would hold it against him and send his ass up the river for a long time.”
John keeps a gun in the house “for protection”. He does not want to go to jail.
There is no one else to “take care of Mary and the baby and the baby that is coming.” John suggests counseling. He denies anger and alcohol problems. John denies following Mary, although he says her friends “are a bad influence on her.”
John denies the allegations of his ex-wife and says that the police “were never called because nothing physical ever happened. She’s lying on me because I caught her fooling around with one of my friends—the guy she’s married to now.
I caught the whore and so she lies on me to make everybody think she’s a victim and not a slut.”
The prosecutor recommends incarceration. John’s attorney, Mary, and John’s employer request probation.
WHAT IS YOUR SENTENCE? WHY?
Hon. Joe Giarrusso, Jr. (Ret.) and Hon. Elizabeth Hines