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In The Interest Of: L.J. , A Child

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A16A0424
DecidedJune 29, 2016
Reporter298 Ga. App. 432
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawSufficiency of the EvidenceStatutory InterpretationDirect AppealReversal
Case Summary

A juvenile court adjudicated L. J. delinquent for conduct charged as aggravated assault. L. J. appealed, arguing that the evidence did not support the adjudication and that the trial court had applied the wrong intent standard to the charged assault. The Court of Appeals affirmed some of the adjudication but reversed the aggravated-assault offense based on insufficient evidence. The court explained that the State had to prove the conduct and statutory elements alleged in the delinquency petition, and the record did not establish the required factual basis for that offense. Because the reversal rested on insufficiency, the court did not reach a separate question about whether the charged offenses should have merged or whether a developing interpretation of simple assault required specific intent. The judgment was affirmed in part and reversed in part. The decision left the surviving adjudications intact while removing the aggravated-assault finding unsupported by the evidence. Two judges concurred.

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