State of Tennessee v. Marcus Jermaine Brooks, W2016-02071-CCA-R3-CD

Background

Defendant Marcus Jermaine Brooks was indicted for aggravated assault by strangulation and misdemeanor assault for an incident on September 30, 2015; misdemeanor charge later dismissed at trial.
Victim (her college professor and former romantic partner) testified Brooks pulled her from her car, put his knees on her chest, applied a tight choke hold, strangled and hit her until she lost consciousness, and threatened to kill her.
Victim drove to a well-lit parking lot, was treated by EMS, and photographs showed torn hair, facial injuries, bruises, blood from ear, and red marks around her neck; hospital examined her trachea.
Officer and investigator testimony corroborated victim’s distress; investigator Brandi Johnson obtained an arrest warrant, interviewed Brooks, and produced a written statement in which Brooks admitted pulling the victim by her hair and choking her.
Brooks testified he was involved in a physical altercation but denied strangling the victim; he acknowledged some injuries but disputed parts of the written statement, claiming he was not fully awake when interviewed.
Jury convicted Brooks of aggravated assault by strangulation (Class C felony); he was sentenced as a Range II multiple offender to eight years. Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed.

Issues

Issue	State's Argument	Brooks' Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence to support aggravated assault by strangulation	Testimony, photographs, and Brooks’s statement prove he intentionally impeded breathing — sufficient for conviction	Evidence was circumstantial, lacked medical proof, and victim’s ability to scream undermines strangulation claim	Affirmed: viewing evidence in light most favorable to State, a rational jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Whether lack of medical testimony/records defeats strangulation finding	Photographs and victim testimony sufficient; statute does not require visible injury or medical proof	Absence of medical expert testimony weakens proof of impeded breathing	Rejected: statute defines strangulation without need for medical proof; injuries and testimony suffice
Whether victim’s intermittent screaming contradicts claim of strangulation	Victim explained attacker released pressure intermittently allowing screams between episodes	Screaming shows victim could breathe, so could not have been strangled	Rejected: victim testified there were intervals when pressure was released; screams could occur between choking episodes
Competency of Brooks’s confession (given early morning, after arrest)	Brooks admitted choking during interview and signed statement; investigator testified he understood and did not recant	Brooks claimed he was not fully functioning and that the written statement did not reflect his words	Rejected: investigator’s testimony and Brooks’s signed statement supported voluntariness and admission

Key Cases Cited

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency review)
State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832 (Tenn. 1978) (State entitled to strongest legitimate view of evidence)
State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997) (credibility and weight for trier of fact)
State v. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d 913 (Tenn. 1982) (defendant bears burden to show insufficiency on appeal)
State v. Hall, 976 S.W.2d 121 (Tenn. 1998) (convictions may rest on direct, circumstantial, or combined evidence)
State v. Rice, 184 S.W.3d 646 (Tenn. 2006) (jury decides inferences from circumstantial evidence)
State v. Dorantes, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011) (same sufficiency standard for circumstantial and direct evidence)
State v. Keen, 31 S.W.3d 196 (Tenn. 2000) (definition of direct evidence)
Monts v. State, 379 S.W.2d 34 (Tenn. 1964) (confession is direct evidence)
State v. Collier, 411 S.W.3d 886 (Tenn. 2013) (overruling on other grounds noted)