State, in Interest of Wright

387 So. 2d 75
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 30, 1980
Docket11462-11464
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 387 So. 2d 75 (State, in Interest of Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State, in Interest of Wright, 387 So. 2d 75 (La. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

387 So.2d 75 (1980)

STATE of Louisiana in the Interest of Troy Dexter WRIGHT (three cases).

Nos. 11462-11464.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

July 30, 1980.
Writ Granted in part and Denied in part September 19, 1980.

*76 Steven Scheckman, New Orleans Legal Assistance Corp., New Orleans, for appellant.

Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Mary L. Beck, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for appellee.

Before GULOTTA, GARRISON and CHEHARDY, JJ.

CHEHARDY, Judge.

Troy Dexter Wright appeals a decision of the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court granting a motion of the assistant district attorney to modify a judgment of disposition which resulted in a sentence to petitioner of three years at the Department of Corrections and one year at the Department of Corrections to run concurrently.

On January 27, 1979, Wright was arrested for violation of LSA-R.S. 14:67 relative to the theft of three hams from a food store, and subsequently pleaded guilty to an amended charge of attempted theft.

Upon recommendation of the probation department, he was placed on probation for one year, specially conditioned on a 9 p. m. curfew, regular church attendance and attendance at school every day it was in session.

On June 8, 1979, petitioner was arrested and later pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving stolen things, pursuant to LSA-R.S. 14:69. The court ruled on July 25, *77 1979, that Wright, having been found delinquent in that matter, was committed to the Department of Corrections for three years. Sentence was suspended, however, and Wright was placed on probation for a period of three years, to run concurrently with sentencing in the above case.

Conditions of probation were:

"* * * [T]hat the said juvenile stay away from any places where he has committed a crime unless accompanied by his mother; that he receive mental health treatment; that he attend school daily and submit a copy of his report card to the Court; that the mother of the juvenile submit to therapy and that a report to the Court on her progress be submitted to the Court; that the juvenile attend Church every Sunday and that he stay away from bad company. Troy Wright is further placed in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources for placement at Volunteers of America. * * *"

On June 18, 1979, petitioner was arrested for violation of LSA-R.S. 14:37 relative to aggravated assault. He subsequently pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for three years, sentence suspended, and placed on probation for three years, sentence to run concurrently with that in the above case. Conditions of probation were identical to those listed supra.

The Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, in its Motion to Modify Judgment of Disposition, filed on November 16, 1979, charged that:

"(3) * * * Troy Wright was placed in a group Home, The Volunteers of America, an [sic] on October 31, 1979, Troy Wright was arrested for Theft. Mr. David Horn, the group parent advised this office that Troy Wright has not been attending School on a regular basis, and that this is his second encounter with the authorities.
"(4) It is therefore necessary that the Court hold a hearing to determine the necessity for modification of disposition pursuant to Articles 91 through 94 of the 1979 Louisiana Code of Juvenile Procedure."

On November 16, 1979, a hearing was held on the Motion to Modify Judgment of Disposition.

LSA-C.J.P. art. 91 states in part:
"A. On its own motion or on motion of the district attorney, the child, his parents or the probation officer, the court may modify a judgment of disposition.
"B. A motion to modify a judgment of disposition may be denied without a contradictory hearing. A motion to modify to impose more restrictive conditions may not be granted without a contradictory hearing unless the parties consent."
LSA-C.J.P. art. 93 provides:
"A judgment of disposition may be modified if the court finds that the condition and circumstances justify the modification.
"In delinquency proceedings, if a judgment of disposition places a child on probation, the judgment may not be modified to assign the child to the custody of the Department of Corrections unless the court finds that a condition of probation has not been observed."

The only parties who testified at the hearing were Andrew Schiro, probation officer, and David Horn, the Volunteers of America group home parent.

Petitioner now argues that in allowing testimony regarding his behavior in the group home and his association with bad company the State went beyond the scope of their motion to modify, thereby denying him the minimum requirements of due process of law. In support of this argument he cites Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973); State v. Davis, 375 So.2d 69 (La.1979); State v. Harris, 368 So.2d 1066 (La.1979); and State ex rel. Robertson v. Maggio, 341 So.2d 366 (La.1976).

Petitioner further avers that neither his arrests subsequent to probation nor hearsay statements of criminal activity by his probation officer were sufficient to revoke probation, citing State v. Sussmann, 374 So.2d *78 1256 (La.1979); State v. O'Conner, 312 So.2d 645 (La.1975); and State v. Harris, supra.

An additional assignment of error claimed by Wright is that the State only proved that he had missed two periods of class, and that this is an insufficient basis for revoking parole, noting State v. Sussmann, supra, and State in Interest of Bellanger, 357 So.2d 634 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1978).

Wright further argues that the trial court erred in qualifying David Horn as an expert in behavior modification because he did not have the requisite special training or experience within the meaning of LSA-R.S. 15:464 nor the requisite knowledge within the meaning of LSA-R.S. 15:466 to qualify as an expert.

The assistant district attorney admitted at the revocation that there had been no convictions of Wright since the disposition placing him on probation was handed down; and the only evidence of arrests presented was in the form of oral testimony on the parts of Schiro and Horn.

We must agree that the arrests of Wright, subsequent to his being placed on probation, would not, alone, revoke his suspended sentence without proof that an actual crime had been committed. As the court explained in State v. Sussmann, supra:

"1. At the hearing Sussmann admitted that he had been arrested and charged with attempted simple burglary in Jefferson Parish, but the charges were dropped. This evidence was not sufficient to establish that Sussmann violated the condition of probation that he not engage in criminal conduct because Sussmann was only arrested for, but not convicted of, this criminal charge. State v. Harris, 368 So.2d 1066 (La.1979). At a revocation hearing, a violation of the conditions of probation may be shown by establishing a criminal conviction or by actual proof of the commission of a crime, apart from conviction. State v. Davis, 375 So.2d 69 (La.1979), citing State v. O'Conner, 312 So.2d 645 (La.1975) and State v. Harris, 312 So.2d 643 (La.1975). As this court explained in State v. Harris,

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387 So. 2d 75, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-in-interest-of-wright-lactapp-1980.