Edrington v. State

2008 WY 70, 185 P.3d 1264, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 72, 2008 WL 2474671
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJune 20, 2008
DocketS-07-0171
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 2008 WY 70 (Edrington v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edrington v. State, 2008 WY 70, 185 P.3d 1264, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 72, 2008 WL 2474671 (Wyo. 2008).

Opinion

VOIGT, Chief Justice.

[¶1] Appellant, Christopher Edrington, contests the district court's decision to revoke his probation. Appellant admits that he violated his probation but asserts that his violation was not willful because he was suffering from mental illness at the time and that the district court therefore abused its discretion when it reinstated his suspended sentence. We affirm the district court's decision.

*1266 ISSUE

[¶2] Did the district court abuse its discretion when it revoked Appellant's probation? . ©

FACTS

[¶3] On April 10, 2006, Appellant agreed to plead nolo contendere 1 to attempted delivery of a controlled substance in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 85-7-1081 and 85-7-1042 (LexisNexis 2007). In exchange for this plea, Appellant's seven-to-ten-year sentence was suspended and, in a Jildgment and Sentence dated May 12, 2006, the district court placed Appellant on probation for a term of eight years. As part of his probation, Appellant agreed to complete a treatment program at Southwest Counseling Service. The State agreed to stipulate to reduce Appellant's sentence to three to five years, to be suspended in favor of four years of probation, if Appellant successfully completed the program. The plea agreement stated that failure to complete the inpatient treatment program would result in reinstatement of the original sentence.

[T4] .On May 5, 2006, the state filed a petition to revoke Appellant's probation as a result of his termination from the inpatient treatment program. The State rescinded that petition on July 12, 2006, and, pursuant to agreement, the district court entered an Amended Judgment and Sentence of the Court on July 21, 2006. Under the new sentence, Appellant was required to complete inpatient treatment at the "Transitional Residential Program" (TRP).

[T5] On September 18, 2006, the State filed another Petition for Revocation of Probation because Appellant had been terminated from TRP without successfully completing the program. The district court held an evidentiary hearing in the probation revocation on April 11, 2007. At the close of the hearing, the district court indicated that it was revoking Appellant's probation and reinstating the original seven-to-ten-year sentence. An order to that effect was entered on April 30, 2007. This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[16] We apply the following standard of review to a district court's decision to revoke probation:

A district court's decision to revoke probation is discretionary and will not be disturbed unless the record demonstrates a clear abuse of discretion. The district court is required to make a conscientious judgment that the violation occurred after considering the reasons underlying the conditions of the probation, the violation of those conditions, and the reasons leading to the violation.

Anderson v. State, 2002 WY 46, ¶ 25, 43 P.3d 108, 118 (Wyo.2002). We review the district court's findings of fact according to the following standard:

Because the trial court heard and weighed the evidence, assessed witness credibility, and made the necessary inferences and deductions from the evidence, the trial court's factual findings are not disturbed on appeal unless they are clearly erroneous, and the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court's determination

Robinson v. State, 2003 WY 32, ¶ 15, 64 P.3d 743, 747-48 (Wyo.2003).

DISCUSSION

[T7] Revocation of probation is largely governed by court rule. W.R.Cr.P. 39. The State is required to establish the violation of the conditions of probation alleged in the petition by a preponderance of the evidence. W.R.Cr.P. 89(a)(5).

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[I]n order to revoke probation for the violation of a condition of probation not involving the payment of money, the violation must be willful, or if not willful, must presently threaten the. safety of society.

Messer v. State, 2006 WY 141, ¶ 9, 145 P.3d 457, 459-60 (Wyo.2006).

The proceedings for probation revoca- ~ tion consist 'of a two-part process. The first part, the adjudicatory phase, requires *1267 the district court to determine by a preponderance of the evidence whether a condition of probation was violated. W.R.Cr.P. 39(a)(5) The second, dispositional phase, is triggered only upon a finding that a condition of probation was violated. In this phase, the district court must deliberate not only upon the violation, but also the reasons the conditions were originally imposed and the cireumstances surrounding the violation. '

Mapp v. State, 929 P.2d 1222, 1226 (Wyo.1996). "Willfulness is determined at the dis-positional phase of the proceedings." Sinning v. State, 2007 WY 193, ¶ 10, 172 P.3d 388, 390 (Wyo.2007).

[¶8] The parties agree that Appellant failed to complete the program at TRP to which the district court assigned him. Both sides agree that TRP terminated Appellant from the program because he repeatedly violated the program's rules. Appellant, however, claims that he was incapable of following those rules because he suffers from a mental illness. Therefore, Appellant argues that his violation was not willful and that it was an abuse of the district court's discretion to revoke his probation.

[19] We have said that the term "willful" is to be accorded its ordinary and common meaning unless a statute indicates that some specialized meaning is intended. Butz v. State, 2007 WY 152, ¶ 21, 167 P.3d 650, 656 (Wyo.2007). "Willfully means intentionally, knowingly, purposely, voluntarily, consciously, deliberately, and without justifiable excuse, as distinguished from carelessly, inadvertently, accidentally, negligently, heedlessly or thoughtlessly." Id. at ¶ 20, 167 P.3d at 655. Whether or not a violation was willful is a matter of intent, which is a question of fact. Bryant v. State, 7 Wyo. 311, 56 P. 596, 597 (1899). 'We will not disturb the trial court's determination that Appellant willfully violated his probation unless that determination was clearly erroneous. See supra 16.

[¶10] Considering all the evidence in the light most favorable to the district court's decision, we cannot say that the district court's determination that Appellant willfully violated his probation was clearly erroneous. Appellant's probation officer, the director of his program at TRP, and a forensic psychologist all testified at the probation revocation hearing. Appellant also testified on his own behalf. Appellant testified that he was aware of the terms of his probation, and knew he had to "follow the rules." He also testified that he was informed of the program rules at TRP when he entered the facility and that he failed to conform his behavior to those rules.

[¶11] The program director testified that Appellant was uncooperative and argumentative during his treatment. He cited several incidents, including one in which Appellant refused to allow staff properly to administer a drug test for nearly two hours.

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Bluebook (online)
2008 WY 70, 185 P.3d 1264, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 72, 2008 WL 2474671, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edrington-v-state-wyo-2008.