In re B.M.

B.M., seventeen years old, appealed from a juvenile court order declaring her a ward of the court and ordering her to serve 90 days in a juvenile justice facility. The juvenile court sustained a petition charging that B.M. committed a felony assault with a deadly weapon (a butter knife) in violation of Penal Code section 245, subdivision (a)(1). The court rejected B.M.'s claim that the juvenile court erroneously admitted statements she made to the police in violation of Miranda v. Arizona. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support the finding that the butter knife she used was a deadly weapon. Consistent with an express direction from the California Supreme Court and time-honored rules on appeal, the court affirmed the trial court's factual finding that the instant butter knife was a deadly weapon because it was used in a manner capable of producing great bodily injury. The court disagreed with In re Brandon T. to the extent that it held to the contrary. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "In re B.M." on Justia Law