IN THE INTEREST OF C.B., Minor Child, C.B., Minor Child, Appellant.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 8-946 / 08-0863
Filed November 26, 2008
IN THE INTEREST OF C.B.,
Minor Child,
C.B., Minor Child,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wapello County, William S. Owens,
Associate Juvenile Judge.
A minor appeals from the juvenile court’s order adjudicating her to have
committed a delinquent act. AFFIRMED.
William Glass, Keosauqua, for appellant child.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Bruce Kempkes, Assistant Attorney
General, Allen Cook, County Attorney, and Seth Harrington, Assistant County
Attorney, for appellee State.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Vaitheswaran and Potterfield, JJ.
2
POTTERFIELD, J.
I.
Background Facts and Proceedings
On March 28, 2006, two fourteen-year-old classmates, C.B. and J.G., got
into a physical altercation on the school bus. C.B. was sitting behind J.G. and
speaking with J.G.’s younger stepsister in a manner that bothered J.G. J.G.
repeatedly asked C.B. to stop bothering her stepsister, but C.B. continued. In
response, J.G. turned around and swung an open hand at C.B., slapping her
shoulder.1
C.B. retaliated, standing up and striking at J.G., and landing a
glancing blow on her forehead. J.G. remained seated with her hands in her lap,
although some words apparently were exchanged. Roughly five seconds later,
C.B. punched J.G. squarely in the nose. The entire incident was recorded on
videotape, which was admitted into evidence.
The State filed a delinquency petition against C.B. for assault causing
bodily injury in violation of Iowa Code sections 708.1 and 708.2(2) (2005). After
an adjudicatory hearing on March 31, 2008, the juvenile court adjudicated C.B. to
have committed a delinquent act. C.B. appeals, contesting her adjudication as a
delinquent and asserting that the juvenile court erred in finding she did not act in
self-defense.
II. Standard of Review
We review delinquency proceedings de novo. In re J.D.F., 553 N.W.2d
585, 587 (Iowa 1996). Questions of both fact and law are subject to review. Id.
We give weight to the fact-findings of the juvenile court, especially when
considering the credibility of witnesses, but are not bound by them. Id.
1
Both parties agree that J.G. initiated the physical altercation.
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III. Adjudication as a Delinquent
C.B. argues the juvenile court erred in finding proof beyond a reasonable
doubt that she did not act in self-defense when she punched J.G. a second time.
“A person is justified in the use of reasonable force when the person reasonably
believes that such force is necessary to defend oneself or another from any
imminent use of unlawful force.”
Iowa Code § 704.3.
Reasonable force is
defined as “that force and no more which a reasonable person, in like
circumstances, would judge to be necessary to prevent an injury.” Iowa Code
§ 704.1. The State has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that
the defendant was not acting in self-defense. State v. Dunson, 433 N.W.2d 676,
677 (Iowa 1988).
C.B. asserts that after she hit J.G. for the first time, J.G. told C.B. to, “Try it
again. I dare you,” which C.B. viewed as a threat. C.B. maintains that she had a
reasonable belief that force was necessary to defend herself and that she used
reasonable force. We agree with C.B. that she had a right to assert self-defense
as a justification for her actions and that Iowa Code section 704.6 does not
preclude her use of that defense.
However, we find that the State showed
beyond a reasonable doubt that C.B. was not acting in self-defense. The video
clearly showed that after C.B.’s glancing blow to J.G.’s forehead, J.G. remained
in her seat with her hands in her lap. Although J.G. may have dared C.B. to “try
it again,” she did not make any threats or hostile gestures toward C.B. We agree
with the juvenile court that “despite having an opportunity to withdraw, and
without further physical provocation by J.G., C.B. stood up and swung again at
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J.G. using clearly disproportionate force.” Accordingly, we affirm the juvenile
court’s adjudication of C.B. as a delinquent.
AFFIRMED.
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