AnthonyBrown v. Comm., Kentucky Supreme Court, To-be-published (2/15/2018):
Brown was charged with murder and
convicted of second-degree manslaughter. At trial, the court 1) awarded
$7,571.51 in restitution to arguably non-victim entities who had not been named
in the indictment and failed to give notice of the amount claimed or
opportunity for a hearing and jury determination, 2) allowed evidence of a probation
violation in the penalty phase, and 3) held that Brown’s prior drug conviction
could be used to support his manslaughter conviction.
On appeal, the
Kentucky Supreme Court vacated and remanded the restitution award for a new
hearing after notice to Brown regarding the victims and amounts claimed. The
Court stated Brown will have an opportunity on remand to argue that a funeral
home and a medical center are not “named victims” eligible under the statute.
On remand he will also have an opportunity to demand a jury trial, which he
should do in order to raise and preserve the other unresolved question raised
in this appeal, whether he is guaranteed a jury trial on restitution by Section
7 of the Kentucky Constitution and CR 38.01.
Susan Balliet represented
Anthony Brown on appeal.
