Matthew v. State

892 N.E.2d 695, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 1956, 2008 WL 3982884
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 29, 2008
Docket49A05-0801-CR-17
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 892 N.E.2d 695 (Matthew 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
Matthew v. State, 892 N.E.2d 695, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 1956, 2008 WL 3982884 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinions

OPINION

ROBB, Judge.

Case Summary and Issue

Following a bench trial, Janella Matthew appeals her conviction of battery, a Class A misdemeanor.1 Matthew raises the issue of whether sufficient evidence supports her conviction. Concluding sufficient evidence exists, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

On May 27, 2007, Matthew, her boyfriend, and three of her children, including twelve-year-old J.M. and seven-year-old B.M., were playing cards on Matthew’s [697]*697front porch. B.M. threw popcorn at J.M., who responded by hitting B.M. in the face. Matthew then tried to hit J.M., but missed. J.M. called Matthew a “fucking bitch,” transcript at 29, ran inside and shut herself in the bathroom. Matthew eventually got into the bathroom and hit J.M. on her arm and legs with a closed fist. J.M. testified that these blows hurt.

J.M. then pushed Matthew out of the way and ran upstairs to her bedroom. The bedroom did not have a lock, so J.M. “put [her] body against the door and pushed it shut,” but Matthew pushed open the door and again began hitting J.M. Id. at 14. Matthew hit J.M. about ten times with her hand and also struck her with a belt. J.M had covered herself with a blanket, and at one point, Matthew agreed that she “tried to take the blanket off of [J.M.] so that [she] could get a better shot at her with the belt.” Id. at 86. J.M. testified that these blows also hurt. During this altercation, J.M. kicked Matthew, hit her with her arms, “eall[ed] her names and told her to get off of [J.M.].” Id. at 32.

J.M. then went to Kathy Robinson’s house. J.M. was friends with Robinson’s children. J.M. told Robinson that she and Matthew had been in a fight. Robinson noticed a bruise on J.M.’s arm, welts on her legs, and a scratch on her back. Robinson then called the police.

On May 30, 2007, the State charged Matthew with battery, a Class D felony. On November 19, 2007, the trial court held a bench trial and found Matthew guilty. Matthew now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

I. Standard of Review

When reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we will not reweigh evidence or judge witnesses’ credibility. Grim v. State, 797 N.E.2d 825, 830 (Ind.Ct.App.2003). We will consider only the evidence favorable to the judgment and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom. Id. We will affirm a conviction if the lower court’s finding is supported by substantial evidence of probative value. Id.

Our supreme court has recently summarized our standard of review when assessing claims of insufficient evidence.

When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, appellate courts must consider only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict. It is the fact-finder’s role, not that of appellate courts, to assess witness credibility and weigh the evidence to determine whether it is sufficient to support a conviction. To preserve this structure, when appellate courts are confronted with conflicting evidence, they must consider it most favorably to the trial court’s ruling. Appellate courts affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It is therefore not necessary that the evidence overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The evidence is sufficient if an inference may reasonably be drawn from it to support the verdict.

Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146-47 (Ind.2007) (quotations and citations omitted) (emphasis in original).

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

The trial court found Matthew guilty of battery as a Class D felony. “A person who knowingly or intentionally touches another person in a rude, insolent, or angry manner commits battery.” Ind.Code § 35-42-2-l(a). The subsection under which the State charged Matthew states that the offense is “a Class D felony if it results in bodily injury to ... a person less than fourteen (14) years of age and is committed by a person at least eighteen [698]*698(18) years of age.” Ind.Code § 35-42-2-1(a)(2)(B).

A. Matthew’s Age

First, Matthew argues that insufficient evidence exists to support a finding that she was at least eighteen years old at the time of the offense.

When a person’s age is an element of the offense, the State must prove this element beyond a reasonable doubt. Staton v. State, 853 N.E.2d 470, 473 (Ind.2006). The State must present “more than a mere scintilla of evidence,” and must introduce evidence of “substantial and probative value.” Bowens v. State, 578 N.E.2d 377, 379 (Ind.Ct.App.1991). The State need not introduce evidence of a person’s exact age at the time of the misconduct. See Warren v. State, 701 N.E.2d 902, 907 (Ind.Ct.App.1998) (“Time is not of the essence in sex crimes against children.”), trans. denied; Crabtree v. State, 547 N.E.2d 286, 290 (Ind.Ct.App.1989) (affirming conviction where State did not introduce evidence of the victim’s date of birth, but introduced testimony indicating that the victim was fifteen years old at the time of the misconduct), trans. denied. The State may prove a defendant’s age entirely through circumstantial evidence. Staton, 853 N.E.2d at 474.

Trial testimony indicates that J.M. was twelve years old and that Matthew has an older son who was living with his father at the time of the incident. This evidence is sufficient to support the inference that Matthew was at least eighteen years old at the time of the incident. See Altmeyer v. State, 519 N.E.2d 138, 141 (Ind.1988) (concluding that the defendant’s testimony that he was married and had an eleven-year-old son was sufficient to establish that the defendant was at over sixteen years old); Marshall v. State, 643 N.E.2d 957, 963 (Ind.Ct.App.1994) (concluding that evidence that the defendant was a deputy marshal, married, and had two children at least six years old was sufficient to prove that the defendant was over sixteen), trans. denied. Although the State did not introduce any documentation showing that Matthew was at least eighteen, the trial court was permitted to “apply its common sense to this record,” Staton, 853 N.E.2d at 475, and infer that Matthew was at least eighteen.

B. Reasonable Corporal Punishment

A parent has a right to use “reasonable or moderate physical force to control behavior.” Willis v. State,

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Related

Latoyia Smith v. State of Indiana
34 N.E.3d 252 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2015)
Matthew v. State
892 N.E.2d 695 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
892 N.E.2d 695, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 1956, 2008 WL 3982884, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matthew-v-state-indctapp-2008.