State of Tennessee v. Henri Brooks, W2015-00833-CCA-R3-CD

Henri Brooks, a long‑time Shelby County public servant and County Commissioner, entered an Alford plea to a Class D felony for filing a false address on a petition for Shelby County Juvenile Court Clerk.
The State sought denial of judicial diversion at sentencing; Brooks requested diversion and presented extensive character evidence.
At the sentencing hearing the court discussed (1) an earlier dismissed assault charge (allegedly a parking‑lot water‑throwing incident) and (2) a widely reported County Commission meeting confrontation; neither the news videos nor outside reports were formally admitted into evidence.
The trial judge expressed concerns about Brooks’s mental health (speculating about bipolar disorder or schizophrenia) largely based on extrajudicial recollections of media accounts.
The trial court denied judicial diversion and imposed two years probation with mental‑health assessment and community service; the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, finding the trial court relied on improper evidence and remanded for a new sentencing hearing with instructions regarding recusal consideration.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Brooks)	Held
Whether trial court abused discretion in denying judicial diversion	Trial court properly weighed Parker/Electroplating factors and permissibly relied on defendants’ failure to accept responsibility	Denial was an abuse: court failed to properly weigh factors and relied on improper evidence	Reversed: abuse of discretion based on reliance on extraneous evidence; remanded for new hearing
Whether court improperly considered facts outside the record (assault & Commission meeting)	Facts were widely publicized and judicially noticeable; Brooks had opportunity to respond	Court relied on judge’s personal recollection/news reports and hearsay not in evidence	Trial court erred: could not rely on extrajudicial media recollection; facts not properly judicially noticed
Whether consideration of Brooks’s Commission statements violated First Amendment	N/A (State conceded trial court did not rely on this as dispositive at oral argument)	Consideration of political speech violated Brooks’s First Amendment rights	Court declined to decide First Amendment claim because it was unnecessary after finding procedural error (remanded without addressing merits)
Whether recusal is appropriate on remand	N/A	Brooks requested recusal of sentencing judge given extrajudicial reliance and appearance of prejudice	Court instructed trial judge to recuse to preserve appearance of impartiality and remanded for hearing before a different judge

North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (U.S. 1970) (permits guilty plea while maintaining innocence when in defendant’s best interest)
State v. King, 432 S.W.3d 316 (Tenn. 2014) (trial court must consider and discuss Parker/Electroplating factors on record for diversion decisions)
State v. Stanton, 395 S.W.3d 676 (Tenn. 2013) (failure to admit guilt is relevant to amenability but not dispositive for diversion)
State v. Parker, 932 S.W.2d 945 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996) (judicial diversion framework)
Electroplating, Inc. v. State, 990 S.W.2d 211 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998) (lists factors trial court must consider for diversion)
Vaughn v. Shelby Williams of Tennessee, Inc., 813 S.W.2d 132 (Tenn. 1991) (trial judge may not base decision on extrajudicial personal observations)