People v. Brown

Defendant was convicted of driving while his license was revoked and sentenced to eight years in prison. On appeal, defendant argued that the trial court should have declared a mistrial after erroneously barring his necessity defense and after defendant had testified to driving illegally in reliance on a pretrial ruling that the trial court reconsidered. Defendant also argued that he was prejudiced by improper argument during closing arguments. The appellate court affirmed defendant’s conviction without enhancement, vacated his sentence, and remanded with directions. The appellate court found, in part, that the trial court’s decision to bar the necessity defense during trial based on the facts of the case did not deny defendant a fair trial and, as a result, a mistrial was not warranted. (ALBRECHT, concurring and PETERSON, concurring in part and dissenting in part)