Judge Michael Gersten
Brodeur was charged with attempted aggravated harassment, stalking and harassment. It was alleged he verbally threatened to kill Stuckey, and placed a poster on his front door calling him a drug dealer and molester, with Stuckey's picture. The court found Brodeur admitted to the allegations, but Brodeur claimed First Amendment protection for both his verbal statements and the poster. It noted the parties have known each other for more than a decade, finding it apparent Stuckey did not take Brodeur's verbal threats of murder as being serious. The court stated email exchanges between the parties evidenced that Stuckey did not deem his life in danger, finding the emails showed Stuckey attacked Brodeur with as much "venom" as Brodeur attacked Stuckey. Thus, it held that Brodeur's verbal statements that he would kill Stuckey would not be taken by a reasonable person to constitute true threats, ruling prosecutors failed to prove they constituted any crime. Yet, the court stated the words of the poster, coupled with Brodeur's concession that he placed it on Stuckey's residence, were sufficient to constitute a crime and did not run afoul of the First Amendment. It ruled Brodeur was guilty of attempted aggravated harassment regarding the poster.