H.J. v. State

746 N.E.2d 400, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 636
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 17, 2001
DocketNo. 46A04-0010-JV-434
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 746 N.E.2d 400 (H.J. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
H.J. v. State, 746 N.E.2d 400, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 636 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant Respondent, H.J., a juvenile appeals an adjudication finding her to be a delinquent child for the crime of Intimidation, Ind.Code § 35-45-2-1, an act which would be a Class A misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

We affirm.

ISSUE

H.J. raises one issue on appeal, which we restate as follows: whether the State submitted sufficient evidence to adjudicate H.J., a delinquent child, for the crime of Intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

During the 1999-2000 school year, S.J., H.J., and N.S. were in biology class together at LaPorte High School in LaPorte, Indiana. In the last week of March 2000, H.J. and N.S. prepared a list of teachers and students entitled "LaPort-o-cide." At the trial court, H.J. testified the list was made up of those persons she and N.S. did not like. Others testified that the list was made up of people they hated. PR., another student in the biology class, testified that he heard the girls referring to the list as the names of people they would kill with small arms, guns, and knives on the 20th of April, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.

During this time, S.J. noticed that she and her brother were on the list. S.J. first [402]*402thought that the list was a joke, but later became worried when H.J. and N.S. told her that the list was serious. She asked H.J. and N.S. to remove her and her brother's name from the list. Then, shortly thereafter, out of concern for her and her brother's life, S.J. reported the list to school officials, including James Menne (Menne), the assistant principal of LaPorte High School and LaPorte City Police Officer Dennis Behenna (Behenna), Haison to the LaPorte Community Schools. At the fact-finding hearing, Menne testified that during this meeting S.J. was visibly upset.

On or before March 31, 2000, H.J. and N.S. made threats of physical harm to S.J., knowing that S.J. had spoken to school officials about the list. N.S. and H.J. told S.J., "We're gonna put a gun to your head" and "We'll pull the trigger and it'll only hurt for 80 seconds." (R. 86). S.J. reported this next incident to Behenna saying that her name was put back on the list and she was going to be the first one to go. Behenna testified that on that day S.J. was very upset and needed to be transported to the nurse's office to calm her down.

When the students returned from spring break on April 10, 2000, S .J. was again threatened for reporting the list to the school officials, by another student, allegedly conveying the message for H .J. and N.S.

On April 20, 2000 the State filed a delinquency petition alleging that H.J. was a delinquent child who had committed an act that would constitute Intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

On August 16, 2000, the trial court conducted a fact-finding hearing. After hearing the evidence, the juvenile court determined that H.J. was a delinquent child.

This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Sufficiency of the Evidence

H.J. claims that the State's evidence was insufficient to support the finding that she, committed Intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor, if committed by an adult. Specifically, H.J. argues that as a matter of law her conduct did not constitute a violation of the statute. She further argues that the threats she made to S.J. were nothing more than idle statements and were not in retaliation of a prior lawful act. We disagree.

Our standard of review for sufficiency challenges is well-settled. When this court reviews sufficiency of the evidence claims with respect to juvenile adjudications, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Fields v. State, 679 N.E.2d 898, 900 (Ind.1997); Moran v. State, 622 N.E.2d 157, 158 (Ind.1993). We consider only the evidence most favorable to the judgment and the reasonable inferences therefrom and will affirm if the evidence and those inferences constitute substantial evidence of probative value to support the judgment. Blanche v. State, 690 N.E.2d 709, 712 (Ind.1998).

The State is required to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the juvenile committed the charged act. Moran, 622 N.E.2d at 159. The Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution protects an accused against conviction, "except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged." J.T. v. State, 718 N.E.2d 1119, 1122 (Ind.Ct.App.1999) (quoting In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 1072, 25 L.Ed.2d 868 (1970). This protection applies to juveniles as well as adults, J.T., 718 N.E.2d at 1122. Thus, when the State seeks to have a juvenile adjudicated to be delinquent for committing an act that would be a erime if committed by an adult, the State must [403]*403prove every element of that crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

Ind.Code § 85-45-2-1 defines Intimidation as follows:

(a) A person who communicates a threat to another person, with the intent that:
(1) the other person engage in conduct against his will; or
(2) the other person be placed in fear of retaliation for a prior lawful act; commits intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor.

H.J. first argues that the State's evidence is insufficient because the statements she made to S.J. do not, as a matter of law, amount to threats. She argues that the statement, "We're gonna put a gun to your head" and "We'll pull the trigger and it'll only hurt for 30 seconds," can only amount to idle communication and not a threat as defined by Ind.Code § 85-45-2-1. (R. 86). Our legislature has defined threat as, "an expression by words or action of an intention to unlawfully injure the person threatened or another person, or damage property." Ind.Code § 85-45-2-1(0)(1). In Hyde v. State, 531 N.E.2d 472, 473 (Ind.1988), our supreme court, with regard to the elements of Intimidation, stated, "[els-tablishment of the required intent to cause an individual to engage in conduct depends upon the facts and cireumstances surrounding the offense ... Those facts and cireumstances are also relevant to whether the communication may be objectively viewed as a true threat."

Here, the evidence supports the finding S.J. viewed H.J.'s statements as a true threat and not as a joke or idle communication as H.J. argues. S.J. asked H.J. whether the list was a joke; and H.J. told her that it was serious. S.J. believed H.J.

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Bluebook (online)
746 N.E.2d 400, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 636, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hj-v-state-indctapp-2001.