In Re ED

127 S.W.3d 860, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 783, 2004 WL 163000
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 29, 2004
Docket03-03-00433-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 127 S.W.3d 860 (In Re ED) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re ED, 127 S.W.3d 860, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 783, 2004 WL 163000 (Tex. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

127 S.W.3d 860 (2004)

In the Matter of E.D.

No. 03-03-00433-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin.

January 29, 2004.

*861 Ambrosio A. Silva, Office of the Juvenile Public Defender, Austin, for appellant.

C. Bryan Case, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Austin, for appellee.

Before Chief Justice LAW, Justices B.A. SMITH and PATTERSON.

OPINION

JAN P. PATTERSON, Justice.

Appellant E.D., a juvenile, appeals from the trial court's order modifying her probation by extending her probation and placing her in secure confinement at the Travis County Leadership Academy. In a single issue, appellant contends that the order is void because it does not satisfy the requirements of family code section 54.04(n) for placing a status offender[1] in secure confinement. She contends in the alternative that the trial court abused its discretion in modifying her probation. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the order of the trial court.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The facts in this case are not in dispute. On March 21, 2003, appellant at age fourteen *862 was adjudicated a status offender for being a runaway, which is conduct indicating a need for supervision.[2] She was placed on six months' probation in the custody of her mother. Conditions of her probation included: being at home between 7:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. every day, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian or with her probation officer's permission; not associating with anyone two or more years older than herself, including her 22-year-old boyfriend, who was specifically named; and not using alcohol, inhalants, or illegal drugs.

On May 5, appellant's mother reported to the probation officer that appellant had left home after school on Friday and did not return until Monday morning. Appellant's mother suspected that appellant had stayed with her boyfriend's sister. The probation officer detained appellant at school for violating probation and obtained a urine sample. After appellant tested positive for marihuana, appellant told the probation officer that she had smoked marihuana with her friends when she was gone from home the previous weekend. The trial court held detention hearings on May 6 and May 13, and released appellant on probation on May 13 on the conditions that she begin intensive outpatient drug treatment, terminate contact with her boyfriend and other "negative peers," and enroll in summer school. The court also warned appellant that if she violated her probation rules again, she would be ordered into the Leadership Academy.

On May 30, appellant's mother reported that appellant had left home and had not returned. On June 3, the probation officer met with appellant, who said that she had run away because things were too stressful at home with her mother's use of alcohol. Appellant also told the probation officer that she had seen her boyfriend the night before, but did so to break up with him. Appellant was detained for several days.

On June 9, the State filed a motion to modify disposition on the ground that appellant violated the terms of her probation by testing positive for marihuana and leaving home each weekend. On June 10, appellant's probation officer filed a report recommending twelve months' probation and placement at the Leadership Academy. The officer recommended this placement because of appellant's "excessive runaway history and behavioral issues as well as substance abuse." On June 12, after hearing evidence, the trial court found that appellant had violated the terms of her probation by being away from home after curfew. The trial court ordered that appellant be placed at the Leadership Academy in part because she "cannot be provided the quality of care and level of support and supervision that [she] needs to meet the conditions of probation." The court issued nunc pro tunc orders on July 28 and August 8 to correct the omission of an exhibit and correctly state the reason for the modification of probation.

ANALYSIS

Juvenile courts are granted broad powers and discretion in determining a suitable disposition for a juvenile who has been adjudicated to have engaged in *863 conduct indicating a need for supervision, particularly in a proceeding to modify a disposition. See In re J.M., 25 S.W.3d 364, 367 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2000, no pet.); In re J.L., 664 S.W.2d 119, 120 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1983, no writ). Accordingly, we will not disturb the juvenile court's findings regarding the modification of a disposition absent a clear abuse of discretion. See In re C.C., 930 S.W.2d 929, 930 (Tex.App.-Austin 1996, no writ). The juvenile court abuses its discretion when it acts arbitrarily or unreasonably, or without reference to guiding rules and principles. In re C.L., Jr., 874 S.W.2d 880, 884 (Tex.App.-Austin 1994, no writ).

In one issue, appellant contends that the order modifying probation is void because it does not satisfy the requirements of family code section 54.04(n), in that the order did not state, among other requirements, that "all dispositions, including treatment, other than placement in a secure detention facility or secure correctional facility, have been exhausted or are clearly inappropriate." Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 54.04(n)(2)(C) (West Supp.2004). Appellant alleges in the alternative that the trial court abused its discretion in modifying her probation.

At the outset, we disagree with appellant's contention that the order modifying appellant's disposition must meet the requirements of section 54.04(n). This provision sets forth the requirements of a probation officer's report as a prerequisite to the court's order, stating:

A court may order a disposition of secure confinement of a status offender adjudicated for violating a valid court order only if:
....
(2) the juvenile probation department in a report authorized by Subsection (b):
(A) reviewed the behavior of the child and the circumstances under which the child was brought before the court;
(B) determined the reasons for the behavior that caused the child to be brought before the court; and
(C) determined that all dispositions, including treatment, other than placement in a secure detention facility or secure correctional facility, have been exhausted or are clearly inappropriate.

Id. § 54.04(n)(2) (emphasis added). Section 54.04(i), on the other hand, sets forth the requirements of a trial court's order if the court places the child on probation outside of the home. The order must state that: (i) it is in the child's best interests to be placed outside of the home; (ii) reasonable efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need for the child's removal from home; and (iii) the child, in the child's home, cannot be provided the quality of care and level of support that the child needs to meet the conditions of probation. Id. § 54.04(i)(1) (West Supp.2004). Appellant does not dispute that the trial court's order fulfilled these requirements.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
127 S.W.3d 860, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 783, 2004 WL 163000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-ed-texapp-2004.