JOHNNY BERNARD HALL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the State failed to prove Mr. Hall acted willfully in violating the domestic violence injunction, as he reasonably concluded it was no longer in effect.
Johnny Bernard Hall was convicted of felony battery and violation of a domestic violence injunction. The victim's statements led Hall to reasonably be…
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Johnny Bernard Hall appeals his judgment and sentences for felony battery under section 784.03(2), Florida Statutes (2013), and violation of an injunction for protection against domestic violence under section 741.31(4)(a)(3), Florida Statutes (2013). We affirm in part and reverse in part.
In order to obtain a conviction for violation of the domestic violence injunction, the State was required to prove that Mr. Hall acted “willfully” in violating the injunction. § 741.31(4)(a)(3). In this context, “willfully” means “knowingly, intentionally and purposely.” Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 8.18; cf. Gaspard v. State, 848 So.2d 1161, 1162 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003) (holding that knowledge by an accused that an injunction is in effect is an essential element of the crime of aggravated stalking after the entry of a domestic violence injunction). It was undisputed at trial that the victim’s statements led Mr. Hall reasonably to conclude that the domestic violence injunction was no longer in effect. Accordingly, the trial court erred in failing to grant Mr. Hall’s motion for a judgment of acquittal on the charge of violation of the domestic violence injunction.
We affirm Mr. Hall’s judgment and sentence for felony battery without comment. We reverse the judgment and sentence for violation of the injunction against domestic violence and remand for Mr. Hall’s discharge on the latter offense.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
ALTENBERND and SALARIO, JJ., Concur.