R.T.L. v. State

R.T.L., a juvenile, appeals his battery conviction arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal where the only evidence of intent was based upon a prior inconsistent statement from the victim, R.T.L.’s mother. We agree and reverse.

The state filed a delinquency petition alleging that R.T.L. committed a domestic battery upon his mother by touching or striking her against her will. In her written statement given prior to trial, the victim stated that she and her son had engaged in a physical struggle over a book which she suspected contained drugs hidden by…