Carter v. State

Sauntio Carter (defendant) noticed his 14-year-old daughter, M.C., had altered her eyebrows. Carter confiscated M.C.’s cell phone as punishment. Carter checked M.C.’s social-media accounts and saw that M.C. had posted photographs of herself wearing only underwear, spoken to boys, and published her and her grandmother’s addresses online. The next day, M.C. took her cell phone back before leaving for school. Carter walked to the bus stop, found M.C., and brought her home. On the way, Carter broke M.C.’s cell phone. Carter then decided to discipline M.C. According to Carter, he first instructed M.C. to clean their apartment, then called his father to discuss M.C.’s behavior and took a shower to calm down. He then spanked M.C. 14 times with his belt. According to M.C., however, Carter hit her repeatedly with his belt throughout the day and pressed her against the wall, making it difficult for her to breathe. The next day, M.C. told her school guidance counselor what had happened, and the counselor observed numerous bruises on M.C.’s body. The school nurse contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services (department), and someone from the department arrived and took photographs of M.C.’s bruises. The state (plaintiff) charged Carter with strangulation and battery, asserting that the force he used to discipline M.C. was unreasonable. At trial, Carter was found guilty of battery. The trial court found Carter used unreasonable force. Carter appealed, arguing that the force used was reasonable.