KN v. State

203 S.W.3d 103
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 10, 2005
Docket04-1148
StatusPublished

This text of 203 S.W.3d 103 (KN v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
KN v. State, 203 S.W.3d 103 (Ark. 2005).

Opinion

203 S.W.3d 103 (2006)

K.N., Appellant,
v.
STATE of Arkansas, Appellee,

04-1148

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Opinion Delivered February 10, 2005

JIM GUNTER, Associate Justice

Appellant, K.N., appeals the order of the Washington County Circuit Court, Juvenile Division, revoking her probation. For reversal, K.N. makes three allegations of error concerning the admissibility of evidence and the imposition of sanctions. We affirm the trial court's revocation order.

On May 25, 2004, K.N. entered a plea of guilty to possession of an instrument of crime, a violation of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-102 (Repl. 1997), a class A misdemeanor, and possession of a controlled substance, a violation of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-64-401 (Supp. 2003), a class A misdemeanor. On June 1, 2004, the Washington County Circuit Court adjudicated her delinquent, placed her on probation, and sentenced her to a twenty-day suspended sentence in the Juvenile Detention Center. The terms of K.N.'s probation included that she refrain from using illegal substances, that she submit to random drug tests, and that she meet with her probation officer.

On June 30, 2004, K.N. met with her juvenile probation officer, Renee McCown. During that meeting, K.N. was given a drug test. The results of the drug test were positive for the adulterant, Quick 45, which is intended to clean out the system for purposes of passing a drug test. When Ms. McCown questioned K.N. about the drug test, K.N. admitted to using Quick 45 and to smoking marijuana while on probation.

The State filed a petition to revoke probation on the basis that K.N. admitted to using an adulterant to pass the drug test and to marijuana use. After arraignment, the trial court ordered K.N. to be held in detention pending an adjudication hearing.

On July 12, 2004, an adjudication hearing was held to consider the petition to revoke probation. During the hearing, Ms. McCown testified about K.N.'s statements concerning her drug test over K.N.'s objection. The trial court found by a preponderance of the evidence that K.N. violated the conditions of her probation. The trial court ordered her to spend twenty days in detention with fourteen days suspended, placed her on probation with certain conditions, and ordered that K.N. receive inpatient treatment for drug use. K.N. brings this appeal from the order of disposition.

We note that the Arkansas Juvenile Code and its provisions apply to proceedings in the juvenile court. K.M. v. State, 335 Ark. 85, 983 S.W.2d 93 (1998). Specifically, Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-339 governs issues of probation revocation in juvenile court. Bailey v. State, 348 Ark. 524, 74 S.W.3d 622 (2002). A revocation hearing is held once the State files a petition seeking to revoke a juvenile's probation. See Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-339(d). In juvenile-revocation cases, the trial court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the juvenile violated the terms and conditions of probation. Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-339(e). We have consistently held that a trial court's ruling in matters relating to the admission of evidence will not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion. M.M. v. State, 350 Ark. 328, 88 S.W.3d 406 (2002). With this standard of review in mind, we turn to the present case.

For her first point on appeal, K.N. argues that the trial court erred in admitting her statements to her probation officer, Ms. McCown, before her revocation hearing. K.N. contends that Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-321 (Supp. 2003) prohibits the admissibility of her statements to her juvenile probation officer because those statements were made during an "intake process." Id. The State responds, arguing that K.N.'s statements were made during a meeting with her probation officer after she had been adjudicated delinquent in accordance with her own guilty plea.

This issue requires our interpretation of Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-321. We recently articulated our rules regarding statutory construction in Weiss v. American Honda Finance Corp., ___ Ark. ___, ___ S.W.2d ___ (Dec. 14, 2004):

The first rule in considering the meaning and effect of a statute is to construe it just as it reads, giving the words their ordinary and usually accepted meaning in common language. Raley v. Wagner, 346 Ark. 234, 57 S.W.3d 683 (2001); Dunklin v. Ramsay, 328 Ark. 263, 944 S.W.2d 76 (1997). When the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, there is no need to resort to rules of statutory construction. Stephens v. Arkansas Sch. for the Blind, 341 Ark. 939, 20 S.W.3d 397 (2000); Burcham v. City of Van Buren, 330 Ark. 451, 954 S.W.2d 266 (1997). Where the meaning is not clear, we look to the language of the statute, the subject matter, the object to be accomplished, the purpose to be served, the remedy provided, the legislative history, and other appropriate means that shed light on the subject. Stephens v. Arkansas Sch. for the Blind, supra (citing State v. McLeod, 318 Ark. 781, 888 S.W.2d 639 (1994)). Finally, the ultimate rule of statutory construction is to give effect to the intent of the General Assembly. Ford v. Keith, 338 Ark. 487, 996 S.W.2d 20 (1999); Kildow v. Baldwin Piano & Organ, 333 Ark. 335, 969 S.W.2d 190 (1998).

Weiss, supra.

With these principles in mind, we turn to Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-321, which provides:

Statements made by a juvenile to the intake officer or probation officer during the intake process before a hearing on the merits of the petition filed against the juvenile shall not be used or be admissible against the juvenile at any stage of any proceedings in circuit court or in any other court.

Id.

In Manatt v. State, 311 Ark. 17, 842 S.W.2d 845 (1992), we considered the issue at bar. However, in Manatt, we concluded that the juvenile's incriminating statements at issue were made to a police officer and not to an intake officer. Thus, Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-321 was inapplicable to the circumstances in that case. Further, we note that the facts in Manatt did not involve issues of probation revocation.

Guided by our statutory-construction rules, we now examine the plain meaning of the statute. Weiss, supra. The definition section of the Juvenile Code, found at Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-303 (Supp. 2003), does not contain a definition of "intake process." Here, we contemplate the phrase, "intake process," to include questioning a juvenile by an intake officer or by a probation officer before a hearing on the merits of a petition filed before the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent. Thus, we interpret Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-321 to apply to pre-adjudication situations rather than pre-revocation scenarios.

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Related

Fare v. Michael C.
442 U.S. 707 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Stephens v. Arkansas School for the Blind
20 S.W.3d 397 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2000)
Bailey v. State
74 S.W.3d 622 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2002)
Ford v. Keith
996 S.W.2d 20 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1999)
Kildow v. Baldwin Piano & Organ
969 S.W.2d 190 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1998)
Raley v. Wagner
57 S.W.3d 683 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2001)
Redman v. State
580 S.W.2d 945 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1979)
Manatt v. State
842 S.W.2d 845 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1992)
Dunklin v. Ramsay
944 S.W.2d 76 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1997)
Burcham v. City of Van Buren
954 S.W.2d 266 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1997)
Avery v. State
844 S.W.2d 364 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1993)
State ex rel. Bryant v. McLeod
888 S.W.2d 639 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1994)
K.M. v. State
983 S.W.2d 93 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1998)
M.M. v. State
88 S.W.3d 406 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2002)
K.N. v. State
203 S.W.3d 103 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
203 S.W.3d 103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kn-v-state-ark-2005.