In re Shawn B.
Opinion of the Court
In a juvenile delinquency
Ordered that the order of disposition is reversed, on the law, the fact-finding order is vacated, and the petition is dismissed.
We conclude that the evidence was legally insufficient to establish "physical injury” as defined in Penal Law § 10.00 (9). One complainant testified that the appellant struck him in the back of his head, causing him to fall from the bicycle which he was riding and against a parked van. His testimony that he had "a lump” and "scrapes” on his head and "felt dizzy” for approximately four hours was, without more, under the circumstances of this case, insufficient to establish that he sustained either impairment of physical condition or substantial pain within the meaning of Penal Law § 10.00 (9) (see, People v Greene, 70 NY2d 860; Matter of Philip A., 49 NY2d 198; People v Jackson, 139 AD2d 766). The other complainant, who was riding on the handlebar of the same bicycle, testified that he sustained "a little bump on the back of [his] head” when he fell against a fence, causing him "[a] little pain”. Accordingly, the finding that the appellant committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would have constituted assault in the third degree, must be vacated.
In view of our determination, we do not reach the appellant’s remaining contentions. Brown, J. P., Kooper, Harwood and Rosenblatt, JJ., concur. [See, 152 AD2d 733.]
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.