Schmeets v. Turner

706 S.W.2d 504, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 3508
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 21, 1986
DocketNo. WD37471
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 706 S.W.2d 504 (Schmeets v. Turner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schmeets v. Turner, 706 S.W.2d 504, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 3508 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

ORIGINAL PROCEEDINGS IN HABEAS CORPUS

DIXON, Judge.

This is a habeas corpus proceeding to review revocation of probation. The sole issue is whether there was sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s order. On July 26, 1982, petitioner pleaded guilty to the charge of passing a no-account check. The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and placed petitioner on probation for a period of three (3) years. A condition of petitioner’s probation was that “[defendant shall make restitution on all outstanding checks which she has written at a rate sufficient to pay all checks during her probation but not less than $100.00 per month.”

On May 30, 1985, a violation report was filed, asserting Schmeets had violated condition number nine of her probation by failing to make restitution. A hearing was held July 8, 1985. Plaintiff had paid $854.81 out of the $5,008.43 restitution required.

According to petitioner’s probation and parole officer, Linda Campbell, petitioner’s primary income was social security in the amount of $200 a month, and petitioner also occasionally worked on telephone solicitations. Ms. Campbell had directed petitioner to participate in vocational rehabilitation to improve her earning ability, and petitioner had seen Don Martin, an official at vocational rehabilitation on at least one occasion, but any recommendations were not followed through.

According to Ms. Campbell, petitioner has two children, one who lived with her through most of the probation period and one who lived with her periodically. Most of the time petitioner had to walk to get to her job due to unavailability of other types of transportation. It was Ms. Campbell’s feeling, however, that the lack of transportation did not hinder petitioner in finding a job.

Ms. Campbell stated she felt that at times petitioner made good-faith efforts to pay her restitution, but that at other times, she did not. Ms. Campbell testified that she believed petitioner could have paid' more on her restitution: “[S]he has probably come very close to paying as much as she could but not as much, I don’t believe.” Furthermore, it was Ms. Campbell’s belief that petitioner could “definitely” have had more income if she had tried. Petitioner could have followed through with vocational rehabilitation, found other types of employment, and been more selective about her employers (she was not always paid by them).

Ms. Campbell was aware of one hospitalization of petitioner that occurred early in her probation. Ms. Campbell felt that an [506]*506extension of probation would not result in payment of restitution beyond that already paid by the petitioner. Based on these opinions, it was Ms. Campbell’s recommendation that petitioner’s probation be revoked and that petitioner be incarcerated.

Brad Cameron, a psychiatric social worker, had consulted with petitioner in crisis times, including times of financial problems. During these times petitioner had demonstrated concern about supporting her son, supplying her basic needs of life, and paying restitution. Cameron testified that petitioner had made efforts to pay restitution, but that she needed a more structured job and would have no difficulty with heavy lifting or labor-type work.

Petitioner testified that in 1982, she moved to Springfield and stayed with her ex-husband for awhile. She became ill before she was able to go to work, developed pneumonia, and suffered complications from a medical test. She began to suffer from a diseased nerve in her spine which caused pain in her leg and back. She was able to get by with state aid and earnings from part time work, and she and her son were able to move to an apartment. In January, 1983, she began to work for someone who did not pay her, and as a result, she was evicted from her apartment for nonpayment of rent. She went to the employment office, and sometimes she did get jobs there, but sometimes her employers did not pay her. Petitioner also testified that she had contacted Don Martin of Vocational Rehabilitation more than one time. Martin told her that as long as she was working, just to keep working and not to bother with vocational rehabilitation. Petitioner stated that she was unable to lift heavy loads or stand on her feet a great deal, and that recently she had been hospitalized for bleeding through her colon, although that had not kept her from working.

Art Jones, Executive Director of Soul’s Harbor, a charitable assistance group, had occasion to help petitioner with her rent, give her groceries, and provide a truck to put some things in storage for her. It was Jones’s opinion that petitioner was making an effort to help herself.

At petitioner’s request, the court took the matter of petitioner’s probation under advisement, and the matter went to hearing again on August 12, 1985. Petitioner testified that between the time of the two hearings, she had been hospitalized due to bleeding, had had a CAT-scan, and been given therapy for her back. She was diagnosed as having a lower lumbar spine condition which might require fusion, and was instructed not to work for five or six weeks. Petitioner testified that she has had severe back pain since prior to 1982 and also suffers from swelling in her legs. Consequently, she is unable to lift loads or stand on her feet for long periods. She also suffered from cellulitis and phlebitis. Petitioner experienced numbness in her hands during the probationary period, and she believes this affected her ability to work. Petitioner denied that she received social security, but stated that she had received aid to dependent children until April of 1985.

Based on all the testimony, the trial court ruled that petitioner had violated her probation by failing to make a good-faith effort to make restitution and ordered that probation be revoked and that petitioner be sentenced to two years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The sole issue presented by the petitioner in her brief relates to the sufficiency of the evidence. Petitioner asserts that there was neither evidence nor corresponding findings that petitioner was responsible for her failure to make restitution, and no evidence or findings that alternatives to incarceration were inadequate.

Petitioner cites Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 103 S.Ct. 2064, 76 L.Ed.2d 221 (1983) as sole authority for the point. Bearden is cited for the proposition that due process requires that there be evidence and findings that the failure to pay restitution is the fault of the probationer and also that an alternative punishment is inadequate before probation or parole may be revoked. There is no doubt that Bearden [507]*507so holds. A short passage from the opinion demonstrates that that holding is central to the decision.

The question presented here is whether a sentencing court can revoke a defendant’s probation for failure to pay the imposed fine and restitution, absent evidence and findings that the defendant was somehow responsible for the failure or that alternative forms of punishment were inadequate.

Bearden, 461 U.S. at 665, 103 S.Ct. at 2069.

The Supreme Court ruled that a bifurcated finding of both lack of fault and unavailable alternative punishment is constitutionally required for parole revocation.

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Related

State ex rel. Fleming v. Missouri Board of Probation & Parole
515 S.W.3d 224 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2017)
Jackson v. Gill
711 F. Supp. 1503 (W.D. Missouri, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
706 S.W.2d 504, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 3508, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schmeets-v-turner-moctapp-1986.