State v. Wright

For first-degree criminal mistreatment, "physical injury" is an impairment of a physical condition or a substantial amount of pain. Impairment of a physical condition is harm to the body or an inability to use the body or a bodily organ for a certain period of time.

Defendant appealed her conviction of first-degree criminal mistreatment for spanking a 16-month-old child and leaving a bruise on the child’s buttock. On appeal, the Defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a judgment of acquittal because there was no evidence to support the finding that the child suffered an impairment of his physical condition. The Court of Appeals defined impairment of a physical condition as the impairment of voluntary use of a body part and also impairment of the ordinary function of a body part. When questioned at trial, the child’s doctor stated that during the child's appointment, which was a day after the incident, the child was very active, had full range of motion of his joints, and that he did not exhibit any pain. The case detective testified that the child was full of energy and ran around the house when the detective visited the child’s home. Based on the evidence, the Court held there was insufficient evidence Defendant impaired the child’s physical condition because the bruising did not lessen the child’s bodily movement or ability to engage in everyday activities. Reversed.