P. W., a child, appeals from an order of the Juvenile Court of Chatham County adjudicating her delinquent by reason of contempt of court for failing to write a 300-word apology letter and 500-word essay and for violating electronic monitoring while in her mother’s custody. P. W. does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence against her, asserting instead that the juvenile court 1 lacked the authority to order the composition of the essay and letter before it had concluded the adjudicatory part of her hearing; 2 erred when it failed to hold a dispositional hearing before sentencing her for contempt; and 3 lacked authority to sentence her to twenty days in detention. We affirm. We review a juvenile court’s adjudication of delinquency in a light most favorable to support the findings and judgment. Where a juvenile is charged with an offense which would constitute a crime if committed by an adult, the standard of proof in the lower court is beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, conflicts in the evidence are decided by the trier of fact, which was the juvenile court judge. And where issues of fact are in conflict, this court passes only on the sufficiency and not on the weight of the evidence.In re B. J. G. , 234 Ga. App. 285 1 506 SE2d 449 1998.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the adjudication of delinquency, the record shows that during an adjudication hearing on January 25, 2007, P. W., a sixteen-year-old, admitted to allegations of juvenile petitions that she had violated probation and had been truant.1 On recommendation from P. W’s probation officer, the juvenile court postponed final disposition until February 22 to determine whether P. W. was a good candidate for at-home monitoring. Shortly after the court advised P. W. that her behavior “between today and February 22 is going to have a lot to do with what your sentence is,” the bailiff advised P. W. to “take her hands out of her pockets . . . and pay attention.” The juvenile court then noted that P. W. had given a “very aggressive look” at the bailiff. When the State characterized the look as “a matter of contempt,” the juvenile court demurred, but noted that it was “disappointing . . . to try to have a conversation with a young lady who is rolling her eyes, smiling, laughing, giving dirty looks when the deputy directs her to take her hands out of her pockets.” At the conclusion of the hearing, the juvenile court ordered P. W. into detention overnight, moved up the dispositional hearing to 9:00 a.m. the following morning, and instructed P. W. to write a 300-word letter of apology to the bailiff as well as a 500-word essay on “appropriate behavior in court and the importance of obeying the rules.”
