Michael Brown, the 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a suburban St. Louis police officer last month in Ferguson, Mo., had no serious convictions or active cases for any of the most serious types of felonies such as murder, robbery or burglary, a juvenile court system lawyer said Wednesday.
The details emerged at a 45-minute hearing on Wednesday where the St. Louis County Circuit Court said that Brown was never convicted of a serious felony such as first-degree murder or second-degree murder, the Associated Press reported.
"Class A felonies include second-degree murder and first-degree robbery; the penalties in adult court range from 10 years in prison to death. Class B felonies include voluntary manslaughter, second-degree robbery and first-degree burglary, with a maximum penalty of five to 15 years," according to the Post-Dispatch. "It is not known whether Brown had ever been accused of lesser offenses; any record of those would be part of a confidential family court file."
After Brown's case garnered global attention and became a subject of intense speculation, two media organizations, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and GotNews.com, petitioned to have the victim's juvenile record made public in order to figure out the 18-year-old's legal history, if it existed.
Charles C. Johnson, the editor-in-chief for GotNews.com. said, "I've heard from law enforcement sources there is in fact a juvenile record, and I want to know the truth, and I think the American people deserve that given how much attention the Justice Department and numerous media have already lavished on Ferguson."
The attorney for the Post-Dispatch, Joe Martineau, cited an overriding public right to know Brown's history. "If these records exist, there is interest in knowing Michael Brown's background ... what we're asking for here is just verification, one way or the other ... We're acting in a vacuum."
However, Cynthia Harcourt with the St. Louis County Juvenile Office argued the integrity of the juvenile court system was at stake and that "simple curiosity" doesn't trump the state's legal interest in protecting minors accused of crimes. "Media and its curiosity are not legitimate interests. The court of public opinion does not require the release of juvenile records."
While she did not confirm a record existed, she did say Brown had no serious felony convictions, KDSK.com reported.
Juvenile records are confidential in Missouri, but under state law, being charged with certain violent crimes removes those juvenile privacy protections. According to the AP, Johnson's civil lawsuit has cited a 1984 Missouri Court of Appeals ruling that allowed the release of the juvenile records of an 18-year-old who was killed by a security guard while shoplifting at a supermarket in 1979.
Meanwhile, an attorney for the Brown family, Anthony Gray, criticized the Post-Dispatch and GotNews.com, saying this was more about character assassination than the public's right to know. "Now even as he is laying to rest they are still trying to kill him in a sense with these attempts to assassinate what legacy or reputation he may have today that he can no longer defend."
Judge Ellen Levy Siwack did not indicate how long she would take before releasing a ruling.
