The case summary of a recent decision of the Utah Supreme Court reversing the dismissal of charges brought against a tennis coach based on the trial court’s decision that the evidence presented pretrial established a defense to the allegations of child abuse of a player.
State v. Wilcox
Background of the case: Lani Wilcox, a high school tennis coach, was charged with aggravated child abuse after an altercation with a student during practice. The student became upset about her placement for an upcoming match and argued with Wilcox. During the argument, the student slapped Wilcox and began to walk away. Wilcox immediately restrained the student by wrapping her arms around her, and the two fell to the ground. After standing up, the student kicked an assistant coach in the groin. Wilcox then briefly restrained her a second time. In response to the charge, Wilcox asked for a pretrial justification hearing, arguing that her use of force was justified in defense of herself and others. The judge found that Wilcox had made a strong enough case of defending others and ruled that the State had not proven her actions were unjustified. The charges were dismissed, and the State appealed.
What the Court was asked to decide: The Utah Supreme Court had to decide (1) what standard of review applies when a judge dismisses charges after a pretrial justification hearing, and (2) whether the judge was wrong to dismiss the charges against Wilcox.
The Supreme Court’s decision: In Utah, self-defense and defense of others are legal defenses that can justify the use of force. These issues were traditionally decided by a jury during trial. But under Utah Code section 76-2-309, a defendant can now ask a judge to decide the issue earlier in the process, through a pretrial justification hearing. This hearing has two stages. First, the defendant must make an initial showing that the use of force was justified. Then, if the defendant succeeds, the case moves to the second stage, where the burden shifts to the State to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the use of force was not justified. Even if the State meets its burden, the defendant can still raise the same defense again at trial. This appeal is about the second stage of that process. People may use force only if they reasonably believe there is an imminent threat. Imminence has both a subjective and an objective component: the defendant must genuinely believe they face an imminent threat, and that belief must be objectively reasonable. Both sides agreed that Wilcox genuinely believed the student posed a threat to others. But they disagreed about whether that belief was reasonable. The Utah Supreme Court decided that the objective reasonableness of Wilcox’s belief was a “law-like mixed question.” That meant the court would review the district court’s decision for correctness, without deferring to the trial judge’s conclusions. The court then had to decide if a reasonable person in Wilcox’s situation would have believed that the student was imminently going to use unlawful force against the other players or the assistant coach. Although the student slapped Wilcox, she was turning away when Wilcox restrained her. The nearest students were several yards away, and the student wasn’t making a clear move to attack anyone else. The court concluded Wilcox’s use of force in defense of others was not objectively reasonable under the circumstances. The court reversed the district court’s decision and sent the case back to that court for further proceedings.
Details of the incident after the coach informed the student (“Gwen”) of the sit down
Gwen picked up her tennis racket, tucked it under her arm, and approached Wilcox. She told Wilcox she felt calm and ready to practice. Wilcox asked Gwen to go home because she had missed most of practice and told her she would not compete the next day. The exchange grew heated. Wilcox pointed repeatedly at Gwen and at the court clock, frustrated that Gwen had wasted almost all of the practice collecting herself in the bathroom. As the conversation escalated, Gwen slapped Wilcox across the face, said “Fuck you, Lani,” and started to turn away from Wilcox. The slap left a red mark on Wilcox’s cheek.
Immediately after the slap, Wilcox moved behind Gwen and wrapped both arms around her. Wilcox testified that she grabbed Gwen to restrain her because she was “afraid of [Gwen] either going after [her] again or anybody on that court because [Gwen] was very, very angry.” Once Wilcox’s arms were around Gwen, Wilcox lost her balance and the two fell to the ground. Wilcox hit her head on the tennis court, causing a concussion. Wilcox restrained Gwen for about eleven seconds. Gwen then pushed Wilcox’s arms away, freeing herself, and stood up.
The details of the restraint are disputed. Gwen testified that Wilcox’s arms were around her neck and that she could not breathe. When asked where she was restrained, she pointed to her lower neck and collarbones. She was later observed with red marks on her neck. Wilcox maintained that she intended to restrain Gwen around the shoulders and that any contact with Gwen’s neck was inadvertent or occurred as the two fell.
After Gwen stood up, the assistant coach, who had rushed over during the altercation, told her to go home. In response, Gwen kicked him in the groin. Wilcox then seized Gwen again, restraining her a second time for a few seconds.
KPCW has a story about the case with a photograph of the coach’s injuries.
Dozens of people showed up to court Tuesday in support of Park City High School tennis coach Lani Wilcox. She faces one count of aggravated child abuse, a third degree felony, and one count of interrupting an emergency phone call, a class B misdemeanor, following an altercation with a student tennis player on Aug. 29, 2022.
Her lawyers asked for the justification hearing. Under a new Utah law, before a case goes to trial, defendants can ask prosecutors to prove the crime was not committed in self defense or in defense of others.
Clayton Simms, Wilcox’s attorney, has called her actions that day self defense. He said not only was she trying to protect herself, she was also protecting other players on the court.
(Mike Frisch)