Clay v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Clay v. State

238 S.E.2d 724, 143 Ga. App. 361, 1977 Ga. App. LEXIS 2318

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia

DecidedSeptember 29, 1977

Docket54260

StatusPublished

Cited by6 cases

This text of 238 S.E.2d 724 (Clay v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Clay v. State, 238 S.E.2d 724, 143 Ga. App. 361, 1977 Ga. App. LEXIS 2318 (Ga. Ct. App. 1977).

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Opinion

Birdsong, Judge.

This appeal is from a revocation of a probated sentence of defendant. Appellant contends that the petition for revocation contained evidence of a prior probation for simple battery; appellant had completed his probation of one year for the offense of simple battery, and that this evidence of a prior probation could have affected the trial court’s decision in revoking appellant’s probation.

This contention is without merit. The only issue presented is whether the evidence at the hearing was sufficient to warrant the action of the court in revoking the probationary sentence under Code Ann. § 27-2713 (Ga. L. 1956, pp. 27, 32; 1960, p. 857; 1966, p. 440).

This court has repeatedly held that the trial judge is not bound by the same rules of evidence as a jury in passing on the guilt or innocence of the accused in the first instance. The judge is the trier of facts. He has a very wide discretion. Sellers v. State, 107 Ga. App. 516, 518 (130 SE2d 790) (1963). Only "slight evidence” is required to *362 authorize revocation, and where there is any evidence supporting the offense charged as a violation of the probation, an appellate court will not interfere with a revocation unless there has been manifest abuse of discretion. Barlow v. State, 140 Ga. App. 667 (231 SE2d 561) (1977).

Submitted September 6, 1977 Decided September 29, 1977. J. Donald Bennett, for appellant. William M. Campbell, District Attorney, Bruce Henshelwood, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

A review of the record shows sufficient evidence to sustain the judgment of the court.

Judgment affirmed.

Been, P.J., and Webb, J., concur.

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Birdsong, Judge.

This appeal is from a revocation of a probated sentence of defendant. Appellant contends that the petition for revocation contained evidence of a prior probation for simple battery; appellant had completed his probation of one year for the offense of simple battery, and that this evidence of a prior probation could have affected the trial court’s decision in revoking appellant’s probation.

This contention is without merit. The only issue presented is whether the evidence at the hearing was sufficient to warrant the action of the court in revoking the probationary sentence under Code Ann. § 27-2713 (Ga. L. 1956, pp. 27, 32; 1960, p. 857; 1966, p. 440).

This court has repeatedly held that the trial judge is not bound by the same rules of evidence as a jury in passing on the guilt or innocence of the accused in the first instance. The judge is the trier of facts. He has a very wide discretion. Sellers v. State, 107 Ga. App. 516, 518 (130 SE2d 790) (1963). Only "slight evidence” is required to *362 authorize revocation, and where there is any evidence supporting the offense charged as a violation of the probation, an appellate court will not interfere with a revocation unless there has been manifest abuse of discretion. Barlow v. State, 140 Ga. App. 667 (231 SE2d 561) (1977).

Submitted September 6, 1977 Decided September 29, 1977. J. Donald Bennett, for appellant. William M. Campbell, District Attorney, Bruce Henshelwood, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

A review of the record shows sufficient evidence to sustain the judgment of the court.

Judgment affirmed.

Been, P.J., and Webb, J., concur.

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238 S.E.2d 724, 143 Ga. App. 361, 1977 Ga. App. LEXIS 2318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clay-v-state-gactapp-1977.

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