In the MATTER OF J.M.D.D.L.C., a Juvenile

457 S.W.3d 205, 2015 WL 392817
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 30, 2015
Docket08-13-00332-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 457 S.W.3d 205 (In the MATTER OF J.M.D.D.L.C., a Juvenile) 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 the MATTER OF J.M.D.D.L.C., a Juvenile, 457 S.W.3d 205, 2015 WL 392817 (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

YVONNE T. RODRIGUEZ, Justice

Appellant J.D.L.C, a juvenile previously adjudicated as delinquent, appeals the trial court’s modification of the terms of his probation to include placement in an out-of-home rehabilitation program. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

In 2012, Appellant was adjudicated delinquent for misdemeanor assault. The juvenile court placed him on supervised probation. In May 2013, the State moved to modify Appellant’s disposition based on violation of probation terms. The trial court ordered continued supervised probation with electronic monitoring based on an agreed order of disposition entered May 15, 2013.

On September 10, 2013, the State again moved for modification of disposition, which led to the order at issue in this appeal. The State alleged that Appellant violated the terms of his probation by using marijuana, failing to remain at school until his parents picked him up, and associating with negative peers. Pursuant to *206 Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 54.05(e)(West 2014), the juvenile court held separate hearings on the issues of the probation violation merits and disposition.

During the probation violation hearing, Appellant pleaded true to using marijuana four times while on probation. He also pleaded true to failing to remain on school grounds after school until he was picked up by his parents and failing to go to his place of confinement accompanied by his parents. The juvenile court accepted his pleas and set the second hearing on disposition for a later date.

At the disposition hearing, El Paso County Juvenile Probation Officer Lorenzo Porter testified that Appellant repeatedly violated the terms of his probations, had already had his probation terms modified once before, continued to use marijuana, and was defiant toward his parents. Appellant tested positive for marijuana usage four times in 2013. Officer Porter further testified that he believed Appellant’s risk of re-offending was high. Porter testified that Appellant was passing six out of seven classes at the Delta Academy, with no grade for biology. Appellant had only one unéxcused absence, as opposed to 46 unexcused absences at his previous high school. In Officer Porter’s opinion, Appellant’s best interests would be served by placing him into the Samuel F. Santana Challenge Academy (“Challenge Academy”), a facility run by the El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department. 1 Officer Porter also stated that Appellant’s parents had agreed with his recommendation.

On cross-examination, Officer Porter stated that Appellant had never been placed in a level four probation program such as ISP or the Drug Court, or in a level five probation program such as CAAP or APECS. 2 Porter clarified that ISP and the Drug Court both declined to accept Appellant and instead recommended that Appellant be placed in the Challenge Academy. Porter also testified that Appellant told him he wanted to do the Challenge Academy because it would allow him to get his G.E.D. and graduate from high school in a shorter period of time.

In comments Appellant made at the close, of the case, he stated that he knew what he had done was wrong and asked for a second chance. He stated that he could comply with probation requirements, *207 he had just chosen not to in the past. The juvenile referee sustained the State’s motion to modify disposition and ordered Appellant to continue serving probation at the Challenge Academy. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

In his sole issue, Appellant claims the trial court abused its discretion by placing him at the Challenge Academy when less restrictive probation options were available. We disagree.

Standard of Review and Applicable Law

Once a juvenile has been adjudicated delinquent and placed on probation at a disposition hearing, Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 54.05 et seq. governs modifications of the disposition order. The juvenile court may modify a disposition order if it “finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the child violated a reasonable and lawful order of the court.” Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 54.05(f). “The court shall specifically state in the order its reasons for modifying the disposition and shall furnish a copy of the order to the child.” Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 54.05(i). If the court modifies the disposition so as to place the child on probation outside the child’s home, the order must contain the following findings:

(A) it is in the child’s best interests to be placed outside the child’s home;
(B) reasonable efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need for the child’s removal from the child’s home and to make it possible for the child to return home; and
(C) 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[.]

Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 54.05(m).

We review the disposition portion of the trial court’s modification order for abuse of discretion. In re E.D., 127 S.W.3d 860, 863 (Tex.App.-Austin 2004, no pet.).

Analysis

Because Appellant pleaded true to the probation violation allegations and does not challenge the validity of his plea, we need only review the disposition portion of the trial court’s modification order.

Appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a more restrictive probation condition when a spectrum of other probation options were available. However, there is no requirement that the juvenile court “exhaust all possible alternatives” prior to committing a juvenile to an out-of-home placement. See In re J.A.M., No. 04-07-00489-CV, 2008 WL 723327, at *2 (Tex.App.-San Antonio Mar. 19, 2008, no. pet.)(mem.op.). Here, the record shows that the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion in placing Appellant in the Challenge Academy. Although Appellant was never placed into a Level 4 or Level 5 program prior to being sentenced to the Challenge Academy, nor was he placed into CAAP or APECs, Officer Lozano testified that ISP and the Drug Court both recommended that Appellant be placed at the Challenge Academy.

Additionally, the record shows that reasonable efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need for the child’s removal from the home.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
457 S.W.3d 205, 2015 WL 392817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-matter-of-jmddlc-a-juvenile-texapp-2015.