L.R., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1997-09-03
No. 96-3665
DELL and GUNTHER, JJ., concur., GROSS, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.
698 So. 2d 915 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1997) Positive Treatment
Cited by 19 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

L.R., a 14-year-old girl, was adjudicated guilty of aggravated assault after threatening her 26-year-old cousin with a steak knife. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed her conviction, holding that the victim's testimony failed to establish the well-founded fear of imminent harm required for aggravated assault, and that the written consent for legal representation by a certified legal intern was defective.


Holding

The Court reversed L.R.'s conviction on two independent grounds: (1) the victim's testimony was inherently contradictory and equivocal, failing to establish that the victim had a well-founded fear of imminent harm required for aggravated assault; and (2) the written consent for the certified legal intern's representation was defective because it listed a different law student's name than the one who actually handled the trial.


Headnotes

[1] Aggravated assault requires proof that the victim possessed a well-founded fear that violence was imminent.

[2] A victim's subjective perception of fear, if determined to be well-founded, is sufficient to prove the element of fear in an aggravated assault charge.

Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Aggravated assault requires proof that the victim possessed a well-founded fear that violence was imminent.”

Establishes the legal standard for aggravated assault that the State failed to meet.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

L.R., a 14-year-old runaway, was forcibly returned home by her mother and her 26-year-old cousin (the victim). A fight ensued, and L.R. threatened to …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

L.R., a child, appeals her adjudication of guilt for aggravated assault. We reverse.

The record shows that Appellant’s mother and the victim, Appellant’s 26-year-old cousin, had located Appellant, a fourteen-year-old girl, approximately one month after she ran away from home. The victim and Appellant’s mother forcibly restrained Appellant and returned her to her home. Once there, the victim and Appellant began fighting, and Appellant threatened the victim that she would kill her. Appellant then ran into the kitchen and picked up a steak knife. While Appellant was holding the steak knife, Appellant’s mother stood between Appellant and the victim, who stayed approximately ten feet away from each other. The victim testified that she did not feel threatened by Appellant and did not believe that Appellant would actually stab her. The victim also testified that she told Appellant, “Kill me. Stab me. Do it.” The only indication of the victim’s fear was her testimony that “perhaps” she was fearful of Appellant’s actions.

Aggravated assault requires proof that the victim possessed a well-founded fear that violence was imminent. See § 784.011(1), Fla. Stat. (1995); State v. White, 324 So. 2d 630 (Fla.1975). Where the victim testifies, the victim’s subjective perception of fear, so long as it is determined to be well-founded, is sufficient to prove the element of fear. See, e.g., Gibbs v. State, 623 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); Martinez v. State, 561 So. 2d 1279 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); Blanton v. State, 388 So. 2d 1271 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980).

The State relied solely on the victim’s testimony to establish the victim’s fear of imminent harm. Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, however, the record fails to show that the victim in this case was fearful of imminent harm from Appellant. The victim’s testimony is inherently contradictory, equivocal, and irreconcilable. Even disregarding the inconsistency of the victim’s testimony, this evidence shows not that the victim was fearful of imminent harm, but that, at the most, she might have been fearful. This evidence alone cannot prove that the victim had a well-founded fear of imminent harm. See § 784.011(1). Without such a showing, the State failed to present sufficient evidence upon which the fact-finder could return a verdict of guilt for assault. See Gibbs, 623 So. 2d at 551; Martinez, 561 So. 2d at 1279. As such, the trial court erred in denying Appellant’s motion for judgment of acquittal. See Toole v. State, 472 So. 2d 1174 (Fla.1985).

We also find reversible error in the fact that the written consent signed by Appellant to be represented by a certified legal intern lists a law student different from the one who handled the trial. Rule 11 — 1.2(b) of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar requires that a client indicate “in writing the approval of a student’s appearance on the client’s behalf. Rule ll-1.2(e) requires that the written “consent and approval” be filed in the record of the case and brought to the attention of the presiding judge. Our reading of the rules is that the consent must refer by name to the student who actually handles the case. Here, the failure of the written consent to list the name of the certified legal intern who handled Appellant’s trial violates these rules, and failure to follow these rules provides another reason for reversal.

Accordingly, we reverse Appellant’s conviction for aggravated assault. Further, we caution the State in other eases to ensure that if a defendant consents to representation by a certified legal intern, a proper, signed consent waiver form accurately reflecting the certified legal intern’s name appears in the record. All other issues raised on appeal are moot.

REVERSED.

DELL and GUNTHER, JJ., concur. GROSS, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.

Other
GROSS, Judge,

GROSS, Judge,

concurring in part, dissenting in part.

I agree that the case must be reversed for failure to obtain a written consent. However, I believe that the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for aggravated assault. The trial court had the advantage of observing the demeanor of the witnesses which may well have been crucial in a case such as this.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • A.G. v. State, 737 So. 2d 1244 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)
    …reversible error. See J.M. v. State, 677 So. 2d 890, 891 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); J.G.S. v. State, 435 So. 2d 942 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). See also A.D.; U.S. Const. Amend. VI .and XIV; Art. 1 § 9 and 19(a), Fla. Const.; §§ 985.23 and 985.203; L.R. v. State, 698 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); In the Interest of J.H., 580 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), approved, 596 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 1992). However, we also write to review the requirements of section 985.23(3)(c) with respect to the ■ court’s authority to disregard t…
  • A.D. v. State, 740 So. 2d 565 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)
    …o alternative but to quash the dispositional order and remand for further proceedings. U.S. Const. Amend. VI and XIV; Art. 1 § 9 and 19(a), Fla. Const.; §§ 985.203(1) and 985.23(l)(a), (b), (c), and (d); Fla. Bar. R. ll-1.2(b)(e). See L.R. v. State, 698 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); In the Interest of J.H., 580 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), approved, 596 So. 2d 453 (Fla.1992). We do not apply Maddox v. State, 708 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), rev. granted, 718 So. 2d 169 (Fla.1998) to fundamental senten…
  • Sullivan v. State, 898 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
    …e brandishing the knife. At that point, violence was unquestionably imminent as to Deputy Wilder. However, it was too remote from Deputy Lockett for the charge of aggravated assault to survive a motion for a judgment of acquittal. In L.R. v. State, 698 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), the Fourth District reached the same conclusion on similar facts. The defendant, who was a teenager, was arguing with her adult cousin. The defendant ran into the kitchen, picked up a steak knife, and threatened to kill the vict…

Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw