In re Isaac W.
Opinion of the Court
Order, Family Court, Bronx County (Getzels, J.), rendered May 15, 1981, adjudicating appellant a juvenile delinquent and placing him on probation for two years, following a fact-finding determination that appellant had committed acts which if done by an adult would constitute the crime of assault in the third degree, reversed, on the law, and the petition is dismissed, without costs. After a fact-finding hearing, appellant was adjudicated a juvenile delinquent and placed on probation for two years on the basis of the Family Court’s determination that he had committed acts which if done by an adult would constitute the crime of assault in the third degree. Two questions are presented. First appellant claims that the evidence was insufficient to establish his guilt of assault in the third degree. The Penal Law provides that a person is guilty of assault in the third degree when: “(1) With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person” (see Penal Law, § 120.00). Physical injury is defined as “impairment of physical condition or substantial pain” (see Penal Law, § 10.00, subd 9). Appellant claims that the evidence failed to establish physical injury within the contemplation of that definition. The testimony of the complainant, which the Family Court was entitled to credit, was that the appellant had struck him some six or seven times in the jaw and on the cheekbone, inflicting a cut on the inside of his jaw which caused a stinging pain that lasted some five or six hours, that complainant’s jaw became puffy, and that his head was pounding for three or four hours. Although the issue is arguably a close one (see, e.g., People v McDowell, 28 NY2d 373; Matter of Philip A., 49 NY2d 198) we are satisfied
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.