Case Name: Rose M. HERBERT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1988-05-11
Citations: 526 So. 2d 709
Docket Number: No. 4-86-3025
Parties: Rose M. HERBERT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: GUNTHER, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 526
Pages: 709–716

Head Matter:
Rose M. HERBERT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 4-86-3025.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
May 11, 1988.
Rehearing Denied June 8, 1988.
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, Mark A. Jones and Thomas F. Ball, III, Asst. Public Defenders, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty.Gen., Tallahassee, and Amy Lynn Diem, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
ANSTEAD, Judge.
After a jury trial, appellant was convicted of aggravated child abuse by malicious punishment for punishing her son with a belt. She was sentenced to two years in prison followed by ten years' probation. We reverse and remand for a new trial.
The circumstances of this case are simple and tragic. Rose Herbert is the mother of three children, aged 2, 4 and 7. She was employed as a landscape maintenance worker at Martin Downs. Chester Herbert is her 7-year-old son. At trial, Rose testified that Chester has presented serious disciplinary problems at school and that the school has threatened to kick him out and "send him to a retarded school . [because he] can't listen and he won't sit down . and he won't do his work." She stated that Chester had taken money from her on two or three previous occasions. On those occasions Rose had explained to him that she had only a little bit of money to take care of them and told him not to take money from her but if he needed something he should ask her. On May 19, 1986, Rose went shopping for food and diapers for the baby. She had $10 to last the several days until she received her paycheck. When she discovered that Chester (without her permission) had taken the $.50 she had left on her dresser, she started to whip him with a belt on his behind. However, when he wriggled away the belt struck him on the arms and shoulders. She testified that she didn't mean to bruise him and that she didn't view the punishment as child abuse. In her words:
I really don't think it was child abuse . if I wouldn't a had any money for him to eat he'd a been somewhere starving or about dead . or he wouldn't even had a place to . lay his head. Then he tell 'em I child abuse....
Reacting to the prosecutor's attempt to impeach her testimony, the defendant exclaimed, "He's trying to make it like I'm about to kill my own kids. I love my kids." She told Officer Schwartz who interviewed and arrested her, she was not trying to bruise him but was only trying to make him behave.
The day after this incident, Chester complained to the teacher's aide about his bruises. The school principal called HRS who contacted the police. Patrolman Peggy Schwartz of the Stuart police interviewed Chester who told her that he had been beaten with a belt the previous evening by his mother after she had discovered that he had taken money from her. Officer Schwartz interviewed appellant and arranged to have photographs taken of Chester. Defendant was fully cooperative and related to Officer Schwartz the same narrative that Chester had provided. Chester was examined by Dr. Laguerre, who testified that he had seen bruises on Chester's shoulders, back and arms. He stated that the skin was not broken and the bruises were not very deep and would probably heal without any scars. He testified that "[the beating] was not life threatening, [and] it was not dangerous to the child." It was his opinion, however, that the method of discipline used by defendant, whipping with a belt, was "not appropriate." Doctor Laguerre indicated on the form filled out for the child protection team that in his professional opinion, it was safe to return the child home.
At trial the state proffered testimony from both Officer Schwartz and Chester Herbert about a previous incident in October 1985 when Rose Herbert had punished Chester by whipping him with an electrical cord. Defendant's counsel objected to the introduction of such evidence. He argued that his client had admitted that she had punished her son with a belt and the only question for the jury to decide was whether her actions constituted the crime of "malicious punishment." In addition, he contended that the introduction of testimony by Officer Schwartz, Doctor Laguerre, and Chester Herbert about the previous incident as well as the introduction of photos taken of Chester's bruises after that incident would unfairly prejudice the jury. The trial court overruled defendant's objection and allowed the evidence of the previous incident to be admitted on the basis of "motive," "intent," and "absence of mistake."
SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE
Appellant first contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain her conviction. She claims that her motion for judgment of acquittal should have been granted on two grounds: (1) the state failed to prove the degree of punishment which constitutes the crime of aggravated child abuse; and (2) the state failed to prove that appellant acted with malice in disciplining her son.
As has been noted, Rose Herbert was charged with a violation of section 827.-03(1), Florida Statutes — aggravated child abuse for malicious punishment. Section 827.03(1) provides:
"Aggravated child abuse" is defined as one or more acts committed by a person who: (a) Commits aggravated battery on a child; (b) Willfully tortures a child; (c) Maliciously punishes a child; or (d) Willfully and unlawfully cages a child.
The pertinent portions of the Florida Standard Jury Instruction relevant to the charges here provide:
Before you can find the defendant guilty of (crime charged), the State must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. (Defendant)
b. [maliciously punished] (victim).
2. (Victim) was under the age of eighteen years.
Definitions:
"Maliciously" means wrongfully, intentionally, without legal justification or excuse.
In Faust v. State, 354 So.2d 866 (Fla.1978) the supreme court affirmed the constitutional validity of section 827.03, Florida Statutes (1975), noting that "it conveys a sufficient warning to those subject to its provisions what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties." Nonetheless, the case law demonstrates that the courts have found little guidance in the language of the statute when asked to apply that statute to the discipline of children by their parents.
It is well established that a parent does not commit a crime by inflicting corporal punishment on her child if she remains within the legal limits of the exercise of that authority. Kama v. State, 507 So.2d 154 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Indeed, the corporal punishment of school children has long been approved by the Florida legislature and school boards have been prohibited from barring such punishment. See § 230.33(6)(c), Fla.Stat. (1985). The difficulty in defining "the legal limits" of someone's authority to impose discipline was confronted in Kama:
The determination that a parent, or one standing in the position of a parent, has overstepped the bounds of permissible conduct in the discipline of a child presupposes either that the punishment was motivated by malice, and not by an educational purpose; that it was inflicted upon frivolous pretenses; that it was excessive, cruel or merciless; or that it has resulted in "great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement." Otherwise, persons in positions of authority over children would have no way to judge the propriety of their conduct under the criminal standard.
Kama, at 156. See also Schraffa v. State, 508 So.2d 755 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), in which it was stated that malicious punishment may not necessarily involve physical injury. The cases construing section 827.03 reflect that the classification of a parent's disciplinary conduct as either permissible or not permissible (i.e., aggravated child abuse) has largely been done on a case-by-case basis. There have been no cases which state unequivocally that the whipping of a child with a belt per se constitutes aggravated child abuse. Nor is there one which says that such punishment can never constitute aggravated child abuse.
Most cases in which aggravated child abuse convictions were upheld involved far more egregious behavior and injuries than were involved here. For example, in Jordan v. State, 334 So.2d 589 (Fla.1976), there was evidence that the defendant struck the 2-year-old child four times in the face and spanked him with a belt ten times because the child refused to eat his dinner, and was responsible for the boy's battered arms and two black eyes. Kama involved a defendant who had punished his 10-year-old stepson for pulling a knife on other children and had lied about it. According to the testimony, defendant had struck the child with his fist, kicked him in the stomach, hit him on the back with a belt, pushed him up against the wall, and picked him up off the floor by his ears. See also Waddy v. State, 355 So.2d 477 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978).
While it is probably true that a parent's use of a belt to spank a child, not unlike the corporal punishment approved for school children, is legally permissible and is not by itself the kind of punishment addressed in section 827.03, we believe a jury question is raised by the evidence adduced in this case which indicated that appellant struck the child severely a number of times and on various parts of his body other than the buttocks. Appellant and her son both testified that appellant struck the boy more than five times. As the state points out, the doctor who examined the boy was unable to determine how many blows had been inflicted because there were several bruises superimposed upon one another. We believe this evidence was sufficient to support a finding of malicious punishment. Similarly, we believe the same evidence created a factual issue as to whether the appellant acted with malice. Cases like this should stand as a warning to those, parents and others alike, who quickly turn to corporal punishment as a solution to child discipline problems. It is apparent that there is a serious risk of "going too far" every time physical punishment is administered. The consequences now may include not only harm to the child but criminal prosecution as well.
ADMISSION OF EVIDENCE OF OTHER CRIMES
Appellant next asserts that it was error for the court to admit evidence of the October 1985 incident. Section 90.404(2)(a) of the Florida Evidence Code provides:
Similar fact evidence of other crimes, wrongs or acts is admissible when relevant to prove a material fact in issue, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident, but it is inadmissible when the evidence is relevant solely to prove bad character or propensity.
In Waddy v. State, the First District reversed the conviction of a defendant charged with child abuse based on the improper admission of testimony by the child's mother as to prior batteries inflicted on the child by the defendant:
The mother of the child abused was granted immunity in this case, as well as the Washington County case, in exchange for her testimony against Waddy. She testified that Waddy committed the batteries upon her child on 2 May and then was permitted to relate numerous other batteries which occurred both before and after 2 May for which Waddy was not charged. There were eyewitnesses to Waddy's acts. We fail to see the necessity of the similar fact evidence to prove an element of the crime charged, identity of Waddy or common scheme or plan. The similar fact evidence was irrelevant. As we view it, this evidence was introduced to show Waddy was of bad character and propensities. In Williams v. State, 110 So.2d 654 (Fla.1959), our Supreme Court held that such evidence was inadmissible.
355 So.2d at 478.
In the case at bar, the facts of the incident were never denied by the appellant and were undisputed at trial. The jury heard consistent testimony about the incident from both appellant and her 7-year-old son. Both parties agree that appellant had used a belt to punish the boy for stealing money from her. There was no dispute at trial as to the identity, motive, or knowledge of appellant in beating her son with a belt in May. The only issue in dispute at trial was whether or not the beating constituted the crime of "aggravated child abuse by malicious punishment." Boiled down to its essence, the only issue to be decided by the jury was whether the appellant had gone "too far" in punishing the child on this specific occasion. Appellant correctly asserts that she was not being tried for abuse stemming from the October incident or of continued or repeated abuse. We believe the holding in Waddy applies here. The prior beating was simply not relevant to the issue of whether this particular beating was so severe as to constitute aggravated child abuse by malicious punishment.
In addition, we agree with appellant's objection on section 90.403 grounds; i.e., that the prejudicial effect of the evidence of the prior incident in October clearly outweighed any probative value that it offered. On the basis of the May incident alone, this case presents a close question of child abuse. It is natural that the jury would he deeply influenced by the testimony and photos describing the boy's previous whipping in October. The record reflects that the testimony by Chester, Officer Schwartz and Dr. Laguerre and Rose Herbert about the prior incident comprised a significant portion of the total trial testimony. In addition, the photos shown to the jury which were taken of the collateral event in October reflected far more apparent and serious injuries. The state contends that admission of evidence of the October incident was harmless because the evidence of guilt is overwhelming. We cannot agree. When the standard articulated in Waddy is applied to the facts of the case at bar, it is impossible to conclude that the error was harmless. "A violation of the Williams rule may be considered harmless only where proof of guilt is clear and convincing so that even without the collateral evidence introduced in violation of Williams, the defendant would clearly have been found guilty." Bricker v. State, 462 So.2d 556, 559 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (emphasis added). Our review of the record reflects that the proof that appellant's conduct in May constituted "aggravated child abuse" falls far short of clear and convincing.
Had the charges here involved a continuing pattern of abuse or specifically included the prior incident we would have a different question. Such evidence could ordinarily also be properly utilized in determining an appropriate sentence for the May incident, if appellant is convicted. We acknowledge the difficulties inherent in the review of cases involving the alleged abuse of children. Echoing what are probably the feelings of all of us who must review these cases, Judge Mills aptly concluded the majority opinion in Waddy by observing:
Let the writer of this opinion say that to him child abuse is one of the most heinous of crimes. But let the writer of this opinion also say that the most despicable wretch that walks the face of the earth is presumed innocent until proved guilty and is entitled to a fair trial.
355 So.2d at 479.
In accord with the above we reverse and remand for a new trial.
GUNTHER, J., concurs.
GLICKSTEIN, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.
. Rose Herbert was not charged in the October incident. She entered into an agreement with HRS to get counseling and to terminate her relationship with her current boyfriend.
. Citing the language of section 827.03, Florida Statutes (1975), and its predecessor, section 784.045.
. The other portions of section 827.03 prohibit the "willful torturing" and "willful and unlawful caging" of children. This would seem to indicate that the legislature intended to proscribe conduct far more brutal than the spanking of a child by a parent.