Black v. State

Citation25 Ind.Dec. 637,256 Ind. 487,269 N.E.2d 870
Decision Date03 June 1971
Docket NumberNo. 270S22,270S22
PartiesJames W. BLACK, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.
CourtIndiana Supreme Court

Gil I. Berry, Jr., Indianapolis, for appellant.

Theodore L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Lon D. Showley, Deputy Atty. Gen., for appellee.

GIVAN, Judge.

Appellant was charged by affidavit with aggravated assault and battery, which charge was reduced to assault and battery. Trial before the court resulted in a finding of guilty under the reduced charge. Appellant was fined $1.00 and costs.

The record discloses the following facts:

The seven year old daughter of the appellant and the seven year old son of the prosecuting witness had an altercation in which the little boy struck the little girl with a stick, which fact the girl reported to her father, the appellant; whereupon, the appellant admonished the boy not to strike his daughter and the boy's mother, the prosecuting witness in this case, interceded in behalf of her son. The appellant reciprocated on behalf of his daughter. Testimony by the prosecuting witness and three of her children, ages seven, nine and fifteen, was to the effect that appellant struck her knocking her to the ground, dragged her into his yard and started calling his wife; whereupon the prosecuting witness freed hereself and retreated to her own yard. The prosecuting witness' brother-in-law testified that he arrived shortly after the altercation and discussed the matter with the appellant. The appellant told him that he got tired of her 'shooting off her mouth, so he smacked her and threw her down and hit her head on the blacktop.'

The appellant and his seven year old daughter testified that the prosecuting witness was the attacker; that she scratched appellant's face and that his only act against her was to push away her hands when she scratched his face.

There was thus a conflict of evidence presented to the trial court which required him to believe some of the witnesses and disbelieve others in order to arrive at a decision.

The appellant claims there is not sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction in that there is no evidence of intent which was a material element of the charge of assault and battery. With this we do not agree. Intent to commit a specific crime may be presumed from the voluntary commission of that act. McGill v. State (1969), Ind., 247 N.E.2d 514, 17 Ind.Dec. 504. Under a charge of assault and battery the element of intent may be implied from the intentional acts resulting in injury to another where it is shown that there was a willingness on the part of the perpetrator to inflict the injury. Bleiweiss v. State (1918), 188 Ind. 184, 119 N.E. 375, 122 N.E. 577. Under the evidence above recited the trial court was justified in finding that the appellant had the necessary intent and did in fact commit the crime of assault and battery. Where as in the case at bar the trial judge was faced with conflicting testimony by various witnesses, he had the right to accept any witness' account of the facts and disbelieve any other witness' account. Moore v. State (1970), Ind., 256 N.E.2d 907, 20 Ind.Dec. 697. We also stated in the Moore case that this Court will not weigh...

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14 cases
  • Sizemore v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • January 29, 1979
    ...gratify sexual desires. From such voluntary conduct by Sandlin and Sizemore, the requisite intent may be presumed. See Black v. State (1971), 256 Ind. 487, 269 N.E.2d 870. Accordingly, we reverse and remand to modify the conviction to assault and battery with intent to gratify sexual desire......
  • Bonds v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • November 27, 1973
    ...1973 Supp.). This intent can be inferred from the use of a dangerous weapon or the voluntary commission of an act. Black v. State (1971), 256 Ind. 487, 269 N.E.2d 870; Ives v. State (1969), 252 Ind. 129, 246 N.E.2d Bonds' self-defense contention depends on whether he acted reasonably in mov......
  • Hardin v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • September 22, 1972
    ...various versions of the affair did not represent what had in fact occurred.' 269 N.E.2d 164, 169. To the same effect is Black v. State (1971), Ind., 269 N.E.2d 870. And in Ellis v. State (1969), 252 Ind. 472, 250 N.E.2d 364, the court noted that an identification established by circumstanti......
  • Brooks v. State, 40A04–1512–CR–2373.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • November 4, 2016
    ...when it credited Gerkin's testimony over Brooks's self-serving arguments and allowed Gerkin to testify. See generally Black v. State, 256 Ind. 487, 490, 269 N.E.2d 870, 872 (1971) (providing that because only a trial court sees the witnesses on the stand, their demeanor in testifying, their......
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