S.G., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.

Fla. 1st DCA | 2018-06-28
Nos. 1D17–3602; 1D17–3603; 1D17–3604; 1D17–3605; 1D17–3596; 1D17–3597; 1D17–3598 (Consolidated for disposition)
250 So. 3d 775 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2018) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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

S.G., a juvenile, was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after attacking her father with a mirror shard. The appellate court affirmed, holding that a broken mirror shard can constitute a deadly weapon based on the context and manner of its use, even if broken glass is not ordinarily considered a deadly weapon per se.


Holding

A broken mirror shard can constitute a deadly weapon based on the circumstances of its use, even though broken glass is not ordinarily a deadly weapon per se. The trial court correctly determined the shard was a deadly weapon because it was likely to cause great bodily harm as used by S.G. against her father.


Headnotes

[1] A "deadly weapon" is defined as an instrument that, when used in its ordinary manner, is likely to cause great bodily harm, or an instrument that is likely to cause great…

[2] The context in which an item is used can transform it into a deadly weapon, even if it is not ordinarily considered one.

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Key Quotes

“a deadly weapon [is] 1) any instrument which, when used in the ordinary manner contemplated by its design and construction will or is likely to cause great bodily harm, or 2) any instrument likely to cause great bodily harm because of the way it is used during a crime.”

Establishes the legal definition of deadly weapon used by the court to analyze whether the mirror shard qualifies

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Facts & Procedural History

S.G. attacked her father with a 6-8 inch shard of broken mirror glass while threatening to kill him, also smashing a picture frame over his head. S.G.…

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Opinion of the Court
Per Curiam.

Per Curiam.

S.G., who attacked and injured her father with a 6-8? shard of broken mirror glass and smashed a picture frame over his head all while threatening to kill him, challenges her conviction for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, claiming the shard did not constitute a deadly weapon because it is not ordinarily considered such a weapon, was not converted into one by its use in this case, and caused only a "scratch" that healed by the time of trial.

Though the aggravated battery statute does not define what constitutes a "deadly weapon," it has been judicially defined as "1) any instrument which, when used in the ordinary manner contemplated by its design and construction will or is likely to cause great bodily harm, or 2) any instrument likely to cause great bodily harm because of the way it is used during a crime." Smith v. State , 969 So.2d 452, 454-55 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007) (quoting V.M.N. v. State, 909 So.2d 953, 954 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) ). While a piece of broken glass, whether a mirror, a window, or a beer bottle, may not ordinarily be a deadly weapon by itself, the context in which the item is used can transform it into one. Cloninger v. State , 846 So.2d 1192 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (affirming determination that unbroken beer bottle could be deadly weapon); Brown v. State , 787 So.2d 58 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (stating that evidence supported the finding that a glass bottle could be used as a deadly weapon); see also State v. Shilling , 77 Wash.App. 166, 889 P.2d 948, 950 (1995) (Beer "glass is not a per se deadly weapon; thus, the inherent capacity and 'the circumstances in which it is used' determine whether the weapon is deadly."); Harris v. State , 705 So.2d 542, 548 (Ala. Crim. App. 1997) ("Although a glass bottle is not specifically included in the list of weapons defined as 'deadly weapons,' a bottle may be 'adapted for the purposes of inflicting death or serious physical injury,' and may therefore be a 'deadly weapon.' "); Pauls v. State , 476 A.2d 157, 160 (Del. 1984) ("The end of a shattered glass bottle, with its ragged, jagged, sharp cutting edges, is clearly capable of causing death. It is well known to be as deadly as those objects listed in the statute as deadly weapons.").

There was evidence from which the factfinder could determine that S.G. intended to use the shard to cause severe harm or death to her father, who was fearful and distraught; S.G. had already cut herself in multiple locations and was "angry, cussing, using all kind of crazy language" as she slashed the shard toward him. That his injuries healed and left no permanent damage doesn't undermine the fact that the shard could have caused far worse harm, such as loss of an eye. State v. Pomeroy , 18 Wash.App. 837, 573 P.2d 805, 808 (1977) ("One of the victim's eyes had to be removed as a result of the blow [from the broken beer bottle].").

Because the shard from the broken mirror was likely to cause great bodily harm as used by S.G. against her father, the *777trial court correctly determined it was a "deadly weapon" and denied S.G.'s motion for judgment of acquittal.

AFFIRMED .

Makar, Winokur, and Winsor, JJ., concur.


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  • King v. State (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)
    …bodily harm. Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 8.4; see also Wallace v. State, 240 So. 3d 872, 874 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018). While an instrument may not ordinarily be a deadly weapon, the context in which it is used can transform it into one. S.G. v. State, 250 So. 3d 775, 776 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018). Based on the way Appellant used the flounder gig and the context in which it was used, it was a deadly weapon. Appellant admitted to stabbing the victim with the gig. She also admitted that the gig was long with three prong…

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