Case Name: In the Matter of the WELFARE OF D.S.F.
Court: Minnesota Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Minnesota
Decision Date: 1987-12-15
Citations: 416 N.W.2d 772
Docket Number: No. C4-87-820
Parties: In the Matter of the WELFARE OF D.S.F.
Judges: Heard, considered and decided by CRIPPEN, P.J., and FOLEY and LANSING, JJ.
Reporter: North Western Reporter 2d
Volume: 416
Pages: 772–781

Head Matter:
In the Matter of the WELFARE OF D.S.F.
No. C4-87-820.
Court of Appeals of Minnesota.
Dec. 15, 1987.
Review Denied Feb. 17,1988.
Paul Engh, Minneapolis, for D.S.F.
Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Atty. Gen., Thomas L. Johnson, Hennepin Co. Atty., Patricia Kerr, Asst. Co. Atty., Minneapolis, for respondent State of Minn.
Heard, considered and decided by CRIPPEN, P.J., and FOLEY and LANSING, JJ.

Opinion:
OPINION
LANSING, Judge.
The trial court adjudicated D.S.F. delinquent for an act of third-degree assault and ordered restitution and a 90-day placement in the Hennepin County Home School Alpha Program. D.S.F. appeals, contending that the evidence of intent to commit the assault was insufficient to support the adjudication and the trial court should have imposed a less restrictive disposition. We affirm.
FACTS
On a school day in November 1986, 17-year-old D.S.F. went to Minnetonka High School to pick up his girlfriend. D.S.F. had earlier withdrawn as a student because of problems with the school, and a hall monitor asked him to leave. Upset at this direction, D.S.F. struck a locker with his fist as he began walking down the hallway. When he met three students walking in the opposite direction, he grabbed one by the arm and hit him in the lower jaw with his closed fist. He did not speak to any of the three students before or after the incident and left the school soon after it occurred.
His friends took the injured student, bleeding from the mouth, to the nurse's office, and an ambulance took him to Methodist Hospital. During three hours of surgery, his teeth were wired shut and the bones in his jaw, which had been broken in four places, were wired together. Although the wires were removed six weeks later, the student's molars continued to be sensitive and physical activity caused pain in his upper teeth. His front tooth was chipped and his doctor was unsure whether there would be a permanent loss of other teeth.
The Hennepin County Attorney filed a juvenile court petition alleging that D.S.F. had committed assault in the third degree. After trial, the court concluded that the petition was proved heyond a reasonable doubt and adjudicated D.S.F. delinquent. At the disposition hearing, the court heard testimony from a probation officer who recommended that D.S.F. be placed in the Hennepin County Home School Alpha Program. The court, stating its reasons on the record, rejected less restrictive dispositions and ordered D.S.F. committed to the Alpha program for 90 days, followed by a term of probation. The court also ordered restitution of $581.13 for the victim's out-of-pocket expenses. D.S.F. appeals, claiming that the evidence of intent is insufficient to support the adjudication of delinquency and the court should have imposed a less restrictive disposition.
ISSUES
1. Is the evidence of intent sufficient to support the trial court's adjudication of delinquency for third-degree assault?
2. Did the trial court abuse its discretion by failing to order a disposition less restrictive than a 90-day placement in the Alpha program?
ANALYSIS
I
The offense of assault is defined as the "intentional infliction of or attempt to inflict bodily harm upon another." Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 10(2) (1986). D.S.F. does not dispute that the injured student suffered bodily harm, but denies that he intended to inflict that harm.
The law does not require that the specific result be intended in order to constitute an assault; it is sufficient if the act itself is purposeful and the perpetrator believes the act will result in the bodily harm. Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 9(3) (1986).
D.S.F.'s intent must be determined from all objective facts and circumstances, including his conduct at the time of the act. State v. Whisonant, 331 N.W.2d 766, 768 (Minn.1983). The undisputed evidence establishes that D.S.F., who had substantial experience in karate, grabbed the student by the arm and, with a closed fist, hit him with sufficient force to break his jaw. D.S. F.'s testimony also demonstrates that the act was purposeful. He admitted that he was not trying to hit a locker and that, although he had second thoughts about hitting the student, he hit him nonetheless.
These facts are sufficient to support a finding on the element of intent beyond a reasonable doubt. See In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970); Matter of Welfare of S.W.T., 277 N.W.2d 507 (Minn.1979).
II
Laws pertaining to an adjudicated delinquent are intended to
promote the public safety and reduce ju-' venile delinquency by maintaining the integrity of the substantive law prohibiting certain behavior and by developing individual responsibility for lawful behavior.
Minn.Stat. § 260.011, subd. 2 (1986).
The goal of disposition in a delinquency case is to rehabilitate the child, and the court's decision must be necessary to achieve that goal. Minn.Stat. § 260.185, subd. 1 (1986). In determining what is necessary, the court must consider the severity of both the act and the proposed disposition. Matter of Welfare of L.K.W., 372 N.W.2d 392, 398 (Minn.Ct.App.1985).
The transcript of the disposition hearing reveals that the trial court in this case considered both of these factors. The court noted that physical violence against a person is more serious than a property offense, which might not require confinement. In addition, the court observed that despite his karate training, D.S.F. launched an unprovoked, vicious and unjustified attack. The court evaluated the offense as severe.
In evaluating the effect of the disposition on D.S.F., the court found that 90 days would not substantially disrupt D.S.F.'s life and that a disposition which involved only counseling would not be sufficient to trigger rehabilitation — that a specific consequence was necessary to impress upon D.S. F. the seriousness of his behavior. The court stated that D.S.F. needed to learn control of himself in a manner in which his mother, his job, his karate training, and his previous counseling had not taught him. In addition, the court considered the importance of maintaining the integrity of the substantive law and developing individual responsibility. See Minn.Stat. § 260.011, subd. 2.
Although the dissent characterizes this disposition as "punitive," the trial court's statements indicate that it was concerned with rehabilitating, rather than punishing, D.S.F. Referring to D.S.F.'s karate training, the court stated:
People with that kind of power have to be able to control it . But it is obvious that you haven't learned that. [I]f the Court overlooks the behavior because of your past and because ⅜ this is a single incident, you are likely to reach a conclusion that you don't have to face the consequences of your acts. And the reality of that in the Court's opinion is going to be more helpful than counseling or anything of that kind. Counselors don't have any miracle method of changing people's behavior. Oftentimes the reality of what occurs can have a much greater effect.
The statute also requires that the means used in juvenile dispositions provide opportunities for personal and social growth. Minn.Stat. § 260.011, subd. 2. The court concluded that 90 days in the Alpha program, a closely monitored rehabilitative setting, would not inhibit D.S.F.'s opportunities for growth and agreed that, if possible, D.S.F. could continue his job.
D.S.F. asserts that absent a specific finding that his home life is inadequate, he should not be removed from his home. See Matter of Welfare of L.K.W., 372 N.W.2d at 399-400. However, the preference for allowing children to remain at home applies only to children adjudicated dependent or neglected. Minn.Stat. § 260.011, subd. 2. For a child adjudicated delinquent, supervision in the child's own home is but one of the court's options, to be used when appropriate. Minn.Stat. § 260.185, subd. 1.
The disposition is well within the broad discretion permitted the trial court in delinquency cases. See Minn.Stat. § 260.185. The disposition is not arbitrary or dispro portionate to the offense, and it is supported by reasonable rehabilitative considerations. We find no abuse of discretion in the court's refusal to impose a less restrictive disposition.
DECISION
The evidence of juvenile's intent to commit assault was sufficient to support the adjudication of delinquency, and the court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to impose a less restrictive disposition.
Affirmed.
CRIPPEN, J., dissents.