People v. LaBarge, 80 A.D.3d 892

Defendant, subject to a protective order prohibiting contact with the victim within 1,000 feet and restraining threats, engaged in a heated phone dispute about their children.
The order also required surrender of firearms and prohibited threatening behavior by defendant, who had prior assault and child endangerment convictions.
During the call, defendant allegedly shouted, You can’t take the boys from me, then threatened, How about a shotgun to the face?
The victim reported the incident to police, leading to a criminal contempt in the second degree charge and a jury conviction.
The trial featured conflicting testimony: the victim and her current husband described the threat; defendant denied making the threat and claimed he remained calm.
The appellate court affirmed the conviction, rejecting the weight-of-the-evidence challenge and noting preserved or addressed arguments about speech as protected expression.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the verdict is against the weight of the evidence	People argued testimony supported threat occurred and violated the order	Defendant contends the verdict rests on inconsistent/inferential evidence	No; verdict not against the weight of the evidence
Whether the statement was protected expression	Statement was a violation of a protective order, not protected speech	Statement was constitutionally protected anger	Not preserved; even if considered, not sufficient to negate violation

People v. Tirado, 19 A.D.3d 712 (2005) (weighing conflicting testimony for weight-of-evidence review)
People v. Romero, 7 N.Y.3d 633 (2006) (deference to jury credibility determinations)
People v. Bleakley, 69 N.Y.2d 490 (1987) (credibility and weight of testimony considerations)
People v. Sims, 57 A.D.3d 1106 (2008) (preservation of arguments regarding protected speech)