People v. Brown, 976 N.E.2d 674

Defendant Jeffery E. Brown was arrested August 4, 2010 for possession of cocaine and later convicted at trial of possession of less than 15 grams under 720 ILCS 570/402(c).
Lamanna testified to finding five small bags of white substance and green plant material in defendant’s very baggy pants; wallet contained Jason Brown’s identification but no clear link to defendant.
Defendant testified he wore his brother Jason’s baggy jeans and did not know drugs were in the pockets; he claimed he and Jason wore similar clothes.
Lopez notarized a statement by a man identifying himself as Jason Brown claiming the jeans belonged to Jason, not Jeffery, which defense disputed.
Defendant was sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to pay a $750 public defender reimbursement fee and a $500 statutory drug assessment.
The appellate court held the conviction supported, but (a) vacated the $750 fee and remanded for a proper hearing, and (b) awarded an additional $15 credit against the drug assessment; the remainder of the judgment was affirmed as modified.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Knowledge of possession required	Brown knew the cocaine was in pockets	Brown wore brother’s pants unknowingly containing drugs	Sufficient evidence supported knowledge; conviction affirmed.
Public defender reimbursement fee improper	Love controls; remand not necessary	Fee should be vacated	Vacated fee and remanded for proper hearing.
Credit for pre-sentence custody	Time credit disputed	Entitled to credit	Additional $15 credit against drug assessment awarded.

People v. Cunningham, 212 Ill. 2d 274 (Ill. 2004) (standard for sufficiency of evidence; defer to jury on credibility)
People v. Ortiz, 196 Ill. 2d 236 (Ill. 2001) (knowledge may be inferred from circumstantial evidence)
People v. Schmalz, 194 Ill. 2d 75 (Ill. 2000) (knowledge element; circumstantial proof possible)
People v. Hodogbey, 306 Ill. App. 3d 555 (Ill. App. 1999) (suspicious behavior near narcotics not per se knowledge)
People v. Boswell, 19 Ill. App. 3d 619 (Ill. App. 1974) (earlier capitalization of knowledge standard cited by Hodogbey/Boswell lineage)
People v. Ackerman, 2 Ill. App. 3d 903 (Ill. App. 1971) (suspicious conduct not necessarily sufficient for LSD knowledge)
People v. Jackson, 23 Ill. 2d 360 (Ill. 1961) (suspicious behavior may show knowledge, but not other elements of possession)
People v. Mack, 12 Ill. 2d 151 (Ill. 1957) (prosecution may prove knowledge by acts/conduct from which defendant knew of narcotics)
People v. Love, 177 Ill. 2d 550 (Ill. 1997) (requirement of proper hearing for public defender fee; remand discussed)
Somers, 2012 IL App (4th) 110180 (Ill. App. 4th 2012) (remand for new hearing when fee imposed before 90-day deadline)