Marcelle v. People, 2011 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 15

Marcelle and Reyes, an unmarried couple, lived together for about eight months until Reyes removed Marcelle’s belongings from the apartment.
Marcelle entered Reyes’ apartment by breaking a window after discovering missing keys, and Reyes began discarding his clothes outside the apartment.
Marcelle assaulted Reyes—grabbing her by the neck, pushing her against a wall, choking her, and later pinning her to the ground with his knees on her arms.
Reyes sustained contusions and scratches; police collected a statement from Reyes corroborating the assault, and Marcelle was arrested.
Marcelle was charged with aggravated assault and battery under 14 V.I.C. § 298 and 16 V.I.C. §§ 91(b)(1)-(2) as an act of domestic violence; the trial court convicted in a bench trial.
Marcelle argued a defense under 14 V.I.C. § 41 (resistance by party to be injured) to protect property; the trial court rejected the defense and upheld the conviction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the People proved absence of the defense beyond a reasonable doubt	Marcelle	Marcelle	People proved absence of defense beyond a reasonable doubt
Whether the defense of property under §41 applied to prevent injury to Marcelle’s clothing	Marcelle	Marcelle	Defense not proven; evidence supported conviction

GOV'T OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS v. Isaac, 50 F.3d 1175 (3d Cir. 1995) (burden shifts to prove absence of defense once section 41 raised)
GOV'T OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS v. Smith, 949 F.2d 677 (3d Cir. 1991) (standard for evaluating defense against charges)
United States v. Jannotti, 673 F.2d 578 (3d Cir. 1982) (credibility determinations reserved to fact finder)
Stevens v. People, 52 V.I. 294 (V.I. 2009) (sufficiency of evidence governs conviction review)
Latalladi v. People, 51 V.I. 137 (V.I. 2009) (clear error review for findings of fact)
Willliams v. Gov't of VI, 739 F.2d 936 (3d Cir. 1984) (standard of review for sufficiency of evidence)