Can anyone point me to a case or any other authority that says a minor, over 14, cannot consent to assault - bodily injury? Have a couple of wanna-be gangbangers where there isn't enough evidence to prove they were in a gang and the defendant is claiming he had the victim's consent to beat him up.

thanks

I guess that the main statute you are looking at is TPC 22.06. That wouldn't apply if (1) SBI was threatened or inflicted or (2) you could prove the assault was required by a gang.

An argument could certainly be made that juveniles lack the capacity to consent. See Alameda v. State, 235 S.W.3d 218, 223(Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (in upholding parent's recording of child's phone calls: "Unlike adults, minors do not have the legal ability to consent in most situations. As the Thompson court noted, the vicarious-consent doctrine was necessary because children lack both 'the capacity to consent and the ability to give actual consent.'"); see also Topheavy Studios, Inc. v. Doe, 2005 WL 1940159 at*4 (Tex.App.-Austin August 11, 2005) (contract between minor and adult is voidable). I've got no idea how that argument would work out.

OTOH, you wouldn't want the courts to say that juveniles cannot consent to a search.

[This message was edited by david curl on 11-27-07 at .]