Smith v. State

OPINION

BAKER, Chief Judge.

A person commits aggravated battery by knowingly or intentionally inflicting in jury on a person that causes protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ. 1 The case before us requires us to address as an issue of first impression whether a tooth is a “bodily member or organ” within the definition of this statute. Relying on caselaw from other jurisdictions interpreting similar aggravated battery statutes, we conclude that a tooth is a “bodily member or organ” within the definition of Indiana’s aggravated battery statute.

Appellant-defendan…