Opinion ID: 800766
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Finding of Felonious Conduct

Text: Appellant argues that the government presented legally insufficient evidence to prove assault in the second degree or attempted assault in the second degreethe two felonies enumerated in Count 1 of the Violation Report. The government concedes that the evidence presented at the VOSR hearing was insufficient to prove assault in the second degree. The question, therefore, is whether the evidence presented was sufficient to establish attempted assault in the second degree. Under New York law, attempted assault in the second degree requires that a defendant, with intent to cause physical injury to another person, attempt to cause such injury to such person ... by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument. N.Y. Penal Law § 120.05(2). Physical injury is defined as impairment of physical condition or substantial pain. Id. § 10.00(9). To constitute physical injury, the pain caused by such a wound need not be severe or intense to be substantial, but at a minimum the injury must cause some pain or, to some extent, result in some [physical] impairment. People v. Kruppenbacher, 81 A.D.3d 1169, 917 N.Y.S.2d 405, 410 (3d Dep't 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). In Kruppenbacher, the evidence of physical injury presented only an insignificant scar, which is insufficient to establish assault in the second degree; however, where the defendant harbored an intent to harm the victim when he attacked her with the dangerous instrument, that is legally sufficient evidence to establish that he attempted to assault. Id. On several different occasions, appellant physically attacked and expressed a desire to injure Marquita severely. He grabbed her around the throat, threw her against a wall, and used scissors to get her hands off the doorknob, ultimately stabbing her in her right hand. Although the injury was relatively minor, leaving only a small scar, Marquita could have been injured more severely, resulting in physical impairment or substantial pain. Appellant's actions easily support an inference that he had no qualms about seriously injuring Marquita and indeed wished to do so. Therefore, the evidence presented at the VOSR hearing was sufficient to support the district court's finding, by a preponderance of evidence, that appellant committed attempted felony assault under New York law.