Meghan Hambright v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: June 3, 2015
• Docket: 84A01-1501-CR-13
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Jun 03 2015, 7:27 am Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Cara Schaefer Wieneke Gregory F. Zoeller Wieneke Law Office Attorney General of Indiana Plainfield, Indiana Tyler G. Banks Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Meghan Hambright, June 3, 2015

Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 84A01-1501-CR-13

v. Appeal from the Vigo Superior Court The Honorable David R. Bolk, State of Indiana, Judge Appellee-Plaintiff Trial Court Cause No. 84D03-1310- FC-3099

Bradford, Judge.

Case Summary [1] After pleading guilty to Class C felony operating a vehicle after forfeiture of her

license for life, Appellant-Defendant Meghan Hambright was sentenced to two

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 84A01-1501-CR-13| June 3, 2015 Page 1 of 5 years of home detention. Hambright was to begin her home detention within

one month of sentencing, one of the requirements of which was that Hambright

secure a landline telephone line for monitoring equipment. Approximately two

months later and after Hambright had been given extra time to secure a landline

telephone, Appellee-Plaintiff the State of Indiana (“the State”) petitioned to

revoke Hambright’s direct commitment to home detention. Following a

hearing, the trial court revoked Hambright’s home detention and ordered her to

serve her two-year sentence in the Department of Correction. Hambright

appeals, contending that the trial court abused its discretion, arguing essentially

that her failure to secure a landline telephone was not her fault. Concluding the

trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [2] On October 7, 2013, Hambright was charged with Class C felony operating a

vehicle after forfeiture of her license for life. (Appellant’s App. 2). On April 8,

2014, West Central Regional Community Corrections (“West Central”) filed a

letter in the trial court indicating that it would accept Hambright on home

detention in the event of conviction and a court order to that effect.

(Appellant’s App. 25). The letter indicated, inter alia, that “[i]f client will be

using equipment requiring telephone service client MUST HAVE a working

landline phone service through AT&T ONLY!” Appellant’s App. p. 25

(emphasis in original).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 84A01-1501-CR-13| June 3, 2015 Page 2 of 5 [3] On August 11, 2014, Hambright pled guilty as charged. (Appellant’s App. 32-

33). On September 8, 2014, pursuant to a plea agreement, the trial court

sentenced Hambright to two years of incarceration, to be served as direct

commitment to home detention under the supervision of the Vigo County

Home Detention Program. (Appellant’s App. 34). The sentencing order

provided that Hambright was to commence her sentence within thirty days, or

by October 8, 2014. (Appellant’s App. 34). At some point, Hambright

petitioned to have her direct commitment transferred to West Central. (Tr. 11).

West Central gave Hambright a deadline of October 29, 2014, by which she

was to secure a landline telephone, which represents a three-week extension.

(Tr. 12). As of October 30, 2014, Hambright had not commenced her direct

commitment or contacted West Central. (Tr. 12).

[4] On November 7, 2014, the State filed a petition to revoke Hambright’s

commitment home detention, alleging that she had yet to begin her direct

commitment despite having been given additional time to secure the landline

telephone in her home. (Appellant’s App. 39). On December 11, 2014, the trial

court held a hearing on the State’s petition to revoke direct commitment.

Following the hearing, the trial court revoked Hambright’s commitment to

home detention and ordered that she serve her two-year sentence in the

Department of Correction. (Appellant’s App. 47).

Discussion and Decision

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 84A01-1501-CR-13| June 3, 2015 Page 3 of 5 [5] Hambright contends that the trial court abused its discretion in revoking her

home detention because the State failed to show that her failure to secure a

landline telephone was her fault. For purposes of appellate review, we treat a

hearing on a petition to revoke a placement in a community corrections

program the same as we do a hearing on a petition to revoke probation. Cox v.

State, 706 N.E.2d 547, 549 (Ind. 1999). The similarities between the two dictate

this approach. Id. Both probation and community corrections programs serve

as alternatives to commitment to the DOC and both are made at the sole

discretion of the trial court. Id. A defendant is not entitled to serve a sentence

in either probation or a community corrections program. Id. Rather,

placement in either is a “matter of grace” and a “conditional liberty that is a

favor, not a right.” Id. (quoting Million v. State, 646 N.E.2d 998, 1002 (Ind. Ct.

App. 1995) (internal quotation omitted)).

Our standard of review of an appeal from the revocation of a community corrections placement mirrors that for revocation of probation. A probation hearing is civil in nature and the State need only prove the alleged violations by a preponderance of the evidence. We will consider all the evidence most favorable to supporting the judgment of the trial court without reweighing that evidence or judging the credibility of witnesses. If there is substantial evidence of probative value to support the trial court’s conclusion that a defendant has violated any terms of probation, we will affirm its decision to revoke probation. Cox v. State, 706 N.E.2d 547, 551 (Ind. 1999) (citations omitted).

[6] We conclude that Hambright has failed to establish that the trial court abused

its discretion. It is undisputed that Hambright failed to have a landline

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 84A01-1501-CR-13| June 3, 2015 Page 4 of 5 telephone installed in her residence, a required condition for home detention.

As early as April of 2014—seven months before the State filed its revocation

provision—Hambright was likely put on notice regarding the landline telephone

requirement of home detention by the letter from West Central. At the very

least, Hambright never denies, and the record clearly indicates, that she was

fully aware of the requirement in the time period following her guilty plea on

August 11, 2014. Despite this notice, and a three-week grace period granted by

West Central, Hambright still did not have a landline telephone installed

approximately three months later, when the State filed its petition to revoke

home detention on November 7, 2014. Hambright points to evidence that she

contacted AT&T several times regarding the landline telephone to no avail.

The trial court, however was free to disbelieve Hambright’s testimony regarding

her diligence, and apparently did. Hambright’s argument is an invitation to

reweigh the evidence, which we will not do.

[7] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Vaidik, C.J., concurs.

Kirsch, J., dissents.

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