A father appealed from a judgment that convicted him of attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child. The father and mother did not get along but they lived together. One day while they were at a park the father wanted to take the child home. The mother did not wish to go home with him. The mother claimed while both the father and the mother were holding their daughter’s hands, the father shoved the mother. While he was shoving the mother she claimed his hands hit her in the neck which caused her to lose her balance and fall.
The Trial
At the time of the trial it was ascertained the mother lost her balance and fell at a time when she was wearing high heels. The father took the position the mother was trying to strike him and he was simply blocking her from doing this with his hand. He argued through his counsel the evidence against him was not legally sufficient to establish he was guilty of attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child.
Conviction Set Aside on Appeal
He was initially convicted and thereafter appealed the decision. He argued in his appeal his daughter was not subject to observing “serious domestic violence.” The appeals court took into consideration there was no previous history of domestic violence between the parties. The incident was one incident, not many. The appeals court held although the father pushed the mother under all of the circumstances involved, his conviction for endangerment of the welfare of a child was against the weight of the evidence. The appeals court therefore vacated the prior conviction against the father of attempted child endangerment.
