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In re T.M.

California Court of Appeals, First District, Fourth Division
Apr 27, 2009
No. A123278 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2009)

Opinion


In re T.M., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. T.M., Defendant and Appellant. A123278 California Court of Appeal, First District, Fourth Division April 27, 2009

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. J08-01640

Sepulveda, J.

The minor appeals from a dispositional order committing him to the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility. The order followed a contested jurisdictional hearing where the juvenile court found that the minor committed battery causing serious bodily injury, a felony. (Pen. Code, §§ 242, 243, subd. (d).) The minor’s counsel has asked this court for an independent review of the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) After review of the record, we find no arguable issues and affirm.

On the morning of October 2, 2008, the minor punched a student as the student was walking to the bathroom at his high school in Antioch. The attack was unprovoked. One of the victim’s front teeth was knocked out, he suffered a large swollen lump on the back of his neck, he had a painful headache, and his face and head were bleeding. He was treated at the hospital for a few hours, and he stayed in bed for one or two days while he recovered. Two female students helped the victim after he was punched, and they identified the minor to police later that day as being the person who hit the victim. The juvenile court found the testimony of the two witnesses to the battery “very credible,” and it sustained the single felony count of the petition filed against the minor.

The juvenile court adjudged the minor an indefinite ward of the court and committed him to the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility for a 12-month term, followed by a 90-day conditional release parole period.

The minor’s prior juvenile adjudications included two misdemeanor counts of fighting in a public place (Pen. Code, § 415), and he also suffered four probation violations.

The minor was represented by counsel and received fair jurisdictional and dispositional hearings. Substantial evidence supports the juvenile court’s finding that the minor committed battery causing serious bodily injury and its determination that placement in the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility was an appropriate disposition. There are no meritorious issues to be argued on appeal.

We have received a letter from the minor claiming that the witnesses to the attack made false statements and that their testimony was not to be believed. His letter raises only a sufficiency-of-the evidence claim, and the evidence in the record is sufficient to support the juvenile court’s ruling. (People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 126.)

The dispositional order is affirmed.

We concur: Ruvolo, P. J., Rivera, J.


Summaries of

In re T.M.

California Court of Appeals, First District, Fourth Division
Apr 27, 2009
No. A123278 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2009)
Case details for

In re T.M.

Case Details

Full title:In re T.M., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. THE PEOPLE…

Court:California Court of Appeals, First District, Fourth Division

Date published: Apr 27, 2009

Citations

No. A123278 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2009)