In re J.V.M.

318 S.W.3d 444
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 23, 2010
DocketNo. 08-09-00114-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 318 S.W.3d 444 (In re J.V.M.) 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 J.V.M., 318 S.W.3d 444 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

GUADALUPE RIVERA, Justice.

In his sole issue, Appellant, a juvenile, contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it placed him on probation in a facility other than his home. We disagree.

BACKGROUND

Several days before turning seventeen, and after stipulating and pleading true to the allegations without any agreement between Appellant and the State, Appellant was adjudicated for the misdemeanor offense of delinquent conduct in the form of assault causing bodily injury to his 14-year old ex-girlfriend. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.01(a)(1) & (b) (Vernon Supp.2009). At the disposition hearing, the trial court considered the underlying facts of the case which included a written police report stating that Appellant struck the complaining witness in the head approximately 30 times because Appellant’s brother was standing too close to her, and knocked her down and struck her on the back with a stool. In the written report, the police officer who was dispatched to the scene noted that when he entered the residence, he heard Appellant say, ‘What the fuck were you doing, bitch?” The officer observed that the complaining witness was bleeding from her nose and had visible injuries to her face, which was scratched and swollen around her eyes, and also found blood on a wall and the carpet. The trial court considered other evidence which included, but was not limited to: (1) Appellant’s gang affiliation; (2) a pre-disposition report showing Appellant’s past four juvenile adjudications, including prior dispositions where he was placed on probation at home on one occasion and outside the home in three other instances, and a probation violation; and (3) pending charges for evading arrest and criminal mischief for breaking windows, an act which was allegedly preceded by Appellant’s threatening phone call to his child’s mother in which he asserted that he would rather kill the child than pay child support. The pre-disposition report also showed that Appellant lived with his mother and possibly his father, had numerous incidents of behavioral and assaultive problems toward staff and other juveniles at the Krier Facility leading to his discharge from that facility, had been committed to the Texas Youth Commission for a period of one year and nine months after his fourth juvenile adjudication, and had a history of mild drug use. Appellant had also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Appellant addressed the trial court, stating that he was maturing, had thought about his situation, and would like another chance to redirect himself before turning eighteen years old. The trial court noted that Appellant had been before the court since age 10, had been “placed” twice be[446]*446fore, had been to the Texas Youth Commission, and observed that Appellant and the trial court had been trying to “get everything together for [Appellant] for a long time.” The trial court read and considered a letter prepared by Appellant, informed Appellant that she liked him, and stated that she believed Appellant could accomplish the goals set forth in his letter if he would “get [his] act together.”

Both the State and Appellant’s probation officer recommended that Appellant be placed on probation in the custody of the Chief Probation Officer for the purpose of placement until age 18. Appellant informed the trial court, “[T]he only issue that we wish to address is the placement issue, Your Honor.” This was the only comment made by Appellant regarding the recommended disposition in this case. Appellant never specified his objections to placing Appellant on probation outside the home nor did he show any basis or present any evidence to support home-based probation. Although Appellant’s mother was present at the hearing, no evidence was presented showing that Appellant, either in his own home or the home of a family member, could be provided the quality of care and level of support and supervision that he would need to meet the conditions of probation. Our review of the record shows that Appellant refused to sign the form setting forth the terms and conditions of his probation.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court announced a need for disposition in the case for Appellant’s rehabilitation and for the protection of the public. The trial court followed the recommendation of the State and probation officer, placing Appellant on probation in the custody of the Chief Probation Officer for the purpose of placing Appellant in a facility, not in his parents’ home, and imposing other requirements and restrictions, until Appellant reached age 18.

In its Order of Disposition, the trial court made affirmative findings “[t]hat the child, in the child’s home, cannot be provided the quality of care and level of support and supervision that the child needs to meet the conditions of probation,” and “[t]hat it is in the best interest of the child and for the child’s health, safety, morals and education, that the child be placed on probation in the care, custody and control of the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer[.]” Additionally, the trial court’s disposition order includes findings that it was in Appellant’s best interest to be placed outside his home, that reasonable efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need for his removal from his home and to make it possible for Appellant to return to his home, and that the placement of Appellant outside the home was the appropriate disposition, in part due to Appellant’s “long and extensive history with [the] probation department.”

The trial court entered additional written findings that: (1) reasonable efforts had been made to prevent or eliminate the need for Appellant to be removed from his home; (2) Appellant had previously been placed on probation by the court; (3) “[t]he child and/or family was previously referred to the following community, court, or educational programs: Residential Placement (Meadowlands, Krier);” and (4) “[t]he child and/or family was previously referred to the following counseling or psychological services: Family Counseling at the Cindy Krier Facility & Youth Alternatives.”

DISCUSSION

Appellant complains that the trial court’s decision to place Appellant on probation in a facility outside his home was an abuse of discretion because none of the [447]*447purposes set forth in Section 54.04(i) of the Texas Family Code were better served than if Appellant had received home-based probation. Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 54.04(i) (Vernon Supp.2009). We affirm the trial court’s decision.

Standard of Review

Deciding this case in accordance with the precedence of the transferor court, the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio, we review the trial court’s disposition order under the criminal abuse of discretion standard, without implementing the traditional evidentiary standards of legal and factual sufficiency. Tex.R.App. P. 41.3; In re K.T., 107 S.W.3d 65, 74-75 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2003, no pet.); In re J.G., 195 S.W.3d 161

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Bluebook (online)
318 S.W.3d 444, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jvm-texapp-2010.