Legendre v. State

242 So. 3d 1028
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedMarch 17, 2017
DocketCR–16–0008
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 242 So. 3d 1028 (Legendre v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Legendre v. State, 242 So. 3d 1028 (Ala. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

WINDOM, Presiding Judge.

Christian Anthony Legendre appeals the revocation of his probation by the Madison Circuit Court. Legendre was originally convicted of second-degree burglary, a violation of § 13A-7-6, Ala. Code 1975, and was sentenced to five years in prison. Legendre's sentence was split to time served, followed by three years of supervised probation.

On July 21, 2016, Legendre's probation officer filed a delinquency report alleging that Legendre had violated the terms and conditions of his probation: 1) by failing to report; 2) by leaving the State without permission; 3) by failing to pay supervision fees; 4) by failing to pay court-ordered moneys; 5) by failing to report to a court-referral officer; and 6) by failing to complete a court-ordered substance-abuse program. On August 10, 2016, the circuit court held an initial appearance, at which Legendre denied the allegations against him. On August 24, 2016, the circuit court held a probation-revocation hearing.

Rachel Murrill, Legendre's probation officer, was the sole witness at the hearing. Murrill testified that she had presented Legendre with an order of probation that informed him of his responsibilities while on probation and that she and Legendre had signed the order. Murrill then testified to a number of alleged violations. Specifically, Murrill stated that Legendre had contacted her to inform her that he recently had been released from incarceration following a 45-day "dunk," which had been imposed as a result of a previous probation violation. Murrill and Legendre scheduled a meeting for the next day, May 13, 2016.

*1029Legendre, however, did not appear at the meeting.

Murrill attempted to contact Legendre through all of his known telephone numbers but was unsuccessful. In July 2016, Murrill learned from another officer that Legendre was suspected of stealing a vehicle in Florida. During a telephone conversation with the Florida victim, Murrill was told Murrill that Legendre had traveled to Florida to visit her daughter. According to the victim, Legendre lived at her house in Florida without permission for two weeks and stole her vehicle. Murrill received a letter from the victim detailing Legendre's presence in Florida, which the circuit court received into evidence. Murrill was finally able to locate Legendre following his arrest on July 19, 2016, in Arab, Alabama, based on outstanding traffic tickets.

Murrill also testified that Legendre had failed to make any payments toward his court-ordered moneys or his supervision fees and that Legendre had failed to comply with court orders to report to a court-referral officer and to complete a substance-abuse program.

Following the hearing, the circuit court found that it was reasonably satisfied that Legendre had violated his probation by failing to report; by failing to report to a court-referral officer; and by failing to complete a court-ordered substance-abuse program. The circuit court revoked Legendre's probation after finding that Legendre's "failure to report went to the extent that he would be labeled as an absconder." (R. 15.)

On appeal, Legendre argues that the evidence was insufficient to revoke his probation. Section 15-22-54(e)(1), Ala. Code 1975, states, in pertinent part:

"[W]hen a defendant under supervision for a felony conviction has violated a condition of probation, other than arrest or conviction of a new offense or absconding, the court may impose a period of confinement of no more than 45 consecutive days to be served in the custody population of the Department of Corrections."

(Emphasis added.) Legendre argues that aside from Murrill's attempts to contact him by telephone, the State failed to offer evidence regarding its efforts to locate him and that the only evidence offered that he left the state was hearsay. Thus, Legendre argues, the State failed to offer sufficient evidence that he was an "absconder," and the circuit court abused its discretion in revoking his probation.

An alleged violation of probation need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt; instead, the trial court need only be "reasonably satisfied from the evidence that the probationer has violated the conditions of his probation." Armstrong v. State, 294 Ala. 100, 103, 312 So.2d 620, 623 (1975). Here, ore tenus evidence was presented to the circuit court. In such cases, a presumption of correctness is afforded the court's judgment. Smiley v. State, 52 So.3d 565, 568 (Ala. 2010).

Title 15 of the Alabama Code does not define "absconding." The Alabama Supreme Court has instructed that,

"when a term is not defined in a statute, the commonly accepted definition of the term should be applied. Republic Steel Corp. v. Horn, 268 Ala. 279, 281, 105 So.2d 446, 447 (1958). Furthermore, we must give the words in a statute their plain, ordinary, and commonly understood meaning, and where plain language is used we must interpret it to mean exactly what it says. Ex parte Shelby County Health Care Auth., 850 So.2d 332 (Ala. 2002)."

Bean Dredging, L.L.C. v. Alabama Dep't of Revenue, 855 So.2d 513, 517 (Ala. 2003).

Black's Law Dictionary defines "abscond" as "[t]o depart secretly or suddenly, esp. to avoid arrest, prosecution, or *1030service of process; to conceal oneself." Black's Law Dictionary 6 (10th ed. 2009) (Emphasis added.) The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Manley v. State, 633 S.W.2d 881 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982), stated:

"Abscond is defined in 1 C.J.S. 349 as:
" 'To absent one's self clandestinely; to absent or withdraw one's self privately; to conceal one's self clandestinely with intent to avoid legal process; to go in a clandestine manner out of the jurisdiction of the court; to lie concealed in order to avoid process of the court; and means something more than a temporary absence.'
"Webster's Third New International Dictionary, p. 6, gives the following definition for abscond: 'Withdraw, flee; to depart secretly; withdraw and hide oneself; to evade the legal process of a court by hiding within or secretly leaving its jurisdiction.' "

Manley, 633 S.W.2d at 882. Similarly, the Oregon Court of Appeals has recognized:

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Related

Miller v. State
246 A.3d 776 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2021)
Brendoff v. State
213 A.3d 737 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2019)

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Bluebook (online)
242 So. 3d 1028, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/legendre-v-state-alacrimapp-2017.