WALKER v. STATE, 791 A.2d 751 (Del. 2000)

ADRIAN WALKER, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, Plaintiff Below, Appellee.

No. 257, 2001.Supreme Court of Delaware.
Decided: February 11, 2002.

Court Below: Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for Sussex County Cr.A. No. S00-11-0323.

Affirmed.

Unpublished opinion is below.

ADRIAN WALKER, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, Plaintiff Below, Appellee. No. 257, 2001. Supreme Court of Delaware. Submitted: November 27, 2001. Decided: February 11, 2002.

Before VEASEY, Chief Justice, HOLLAND and BERGER, Justices.

ORDER
This 11th day of February, 2002, on consideration of the briefs of the parties, it appears to the Court that:

1) Adrian Walker appeals from his conviction, following a bench trial, of assault in a detention facility. Walker argues that, as a matter of law, the victim did not suffer sufficient physical injury to support a conviction.

2) Walker and another inmate at the Sussex County Violation of Probation Center got into a shoving match during the evening meal on November 8, 2000. Corporal Eldridge Johnson, of the Delaware Department of Correction, intervened and attempted to restrain Walker and take him out of the dining area. Walker resisted, striking Johnson with a downward swing “like a cat claw.”

3) Johnson suffered abrasions, cuts and scratches on his face, hands and neck, which caused swelling and redness. Although he did not leave work at the time, Johnson went to Beebe Hospital later in the evening to get a tetanus shot and to have the cuts cleaned. Johnson testified that he took Tylenol for a few days after the incident to control the pain.

4) Walker argues that these facts do not support a finding that Johnson suffered “physical injury,” which is defined as “impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.”[1] We disagree. Johnson’s injuries were not serious, but they required medical treatment to avoid infection and control the pain. This Court has held that injuries of this nature and degree are sufficient to satisfy the definition of “physical injury.”[2]

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgement of the Superior Court be, and the same hereby is, AFFIRMED.