J.R.H. v. State

Appellant, J.R.H., punched a middle school classmate, and the state charged him with felony battery pursuant to section 784.03(1) and (2), Florida Statutes (2005). The felony charge was based on appellant’s plea of guilty to a battery charge in an earlier case, for which the court withheld adjudication.

The trial court found appellant guilty of felony battery, over his objection that the state could not establish the felony because it had not proved that he had “one prior conviction for battery” within the meaning of section 784.03(2). Appellant relied on J.E.A v. State, 842 So.2d 851 (Fla. 2d…