T.L.T. v. State , 4D09–1907.

• Decision Date: 26 January 2011
• Docket Number: No. 4D09–1907.,4D09–1907.
• Citation: 53 So.3d 1100
• Parties: T.L.T., a child, Appellant,v.STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

53 So.3d 1100

T.L.T., a child, Appellant,

v.STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 4D09–1907.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

Jan. 26, 2011.

Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Patrick B. Burke, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Don M. Rogers, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.WARNER, J.

T.L.T. appeals an order withholding adjudication but ordering probation on two counts of throwing a deadly missile into two different vehicles. We conclude that the evidence was legally insufficient to support one of the charges. Because the trial court treated the two together in determining T.L.T.'s guilt, and in the process clearly made a material factual error, we reverse.

The charges against T.L.T. arose from two separate incidents in which two women reported that their vehicles were struck by some objects thrown from a school bus. In the first incident, Felicia Patterson was in her mother's vehicle and stopped at a red light next to a school bus on her right. She heard two big sounds, and two hands snatched back through the bus windows. She did not see any faces, nor did she see what was thrown, but the vehicle had a small dent in it which was not there before the incident.

The bus driver herself had observed T.L.T. throw something from the window but did not see what was thrown. She was about to call her dispatch when Ms. Patterson pulled up and stopped the bus. The bus driver then called the police who arrived and tried to determine who had thrown the object. The driver identified T.L.T. and the child sitting with him. Patterson testified that when the officer removed T.L.T. from the bus, T.L.T. and another student cursed at her, with T.L.T. saying that if he went to jail, he would “beat her a--.” The officer testified that T.L.T. was unruly when taken from the bus.

In the second incident, which occurred immediately after the Patterson incident, Rosalind Lindsay was sitting at a red light, going in the opposite direction of the bus. Traffic was slow, and as the bus passed by to her left, a small object hit her window. She looked down to see a Gatorade bottle bouncing on the ground. She did not see the object hit another vehicle. She then made a U-turn to try to catch the bus, which had already stopped.

At trial, another child testified that he had handed T.L.T. a small plastic Gatorade bottle which was empty. He did not see what T.L.T. did with the bottle. In addition, the state presented a video taken inside the bus during the incident. It showed children quite active on the bus. T.L.T. could be identified in the back, and the court indicated that it observed T.L.T. turning to the bus window twice and laughing, although T.L.T. could not be seen throwing anything out the window.

After the state presented its case, the defense moved for a judgment of dismissal, contending that the state's evidence did not meet a prima facie case. The trial court denied the motion. The defense did not present any evidence, and the trial court then found that the state had proved its case. In making its findings, the court stated that the Gatorade bottle was full, when in fact the evidence showed that the bottle was empty. From the court's discussion, it appears that the court concluded that the Gatorade bottle was involved in both incidents. It, however, withheld adjudication and placed T.L.T. on probation. He appeals.

The standard of review of a motion for judgment of dismissal in a juvenile case is the same as that for a judgment of acquittal in a criminal case. See J.P. v. State, 855 So.2d 1262, 1264 n. 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). A motion for judgment of acquittal pertains to the legal sufficiency of the state's evidence. If the evidence, taken in a light most favorable to the state does not support a conviction, the motion must be granted. If the state establishes the existence of each element of the crime charged, then the motion must be denied. See State v. Rivera, 719 So.2d 335, 337 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). The appellate court reviews a trial court's denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal de novo. See Jones v. State, 869 So.2d 1240, 1242 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004).

Where the evidence is circumstantial, a special standard applies. See State v. Law, 559 So.2d 187 (Fla.1989). A conviction cannot be sustained when the only proof of guilt is circumstantial, no matter how strongly the evidence may suggest guilt, unless the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Id. at 188. The question of whether the evidence fails to exclude all reasonable hypotheses of innocence is...