HOW FORKED UP WAS THIS?
After a Referee with New York County Family Court concluded that she had committed the family offenses of “reckless endangerment in the second degree and menacing in the second degree,” an appeal ensued.
And, on its review of the case, the Appellate Division, First Department, could discern no irregularity which warranted a modification or reversal.
First, it appears that any objection to the order of reference, and/or to the Referee’s jurisdiction, was waived by the woman's “active participation” in the underlying proceedings.
It also thought a “fair preponderance of the evidence" buttressed the Referee’s findings. Among other things, the holding of a fork several inches from her child’s face, the making of jabbing motions and the threat to “stab” the youngster in the eye with the utensil, constituted the use of a “dangerous instrument” which supported the “menacing” offense.
And since the woman's behavior posed “a substantial risk of serious physical injury to the child,” the reckless endangerment offense was also appropriately established.
They sure stuck a fork in that ….
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DECISION