State v. Brown

563 S.E.2d 339, 349 S.C. 414, 2002 S.C. App. LEXIS 65
CourtCourt of Appeals of South Carolina
DecidedMarch 14, 2002
Docket3485
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 563 S.E.2d 339 (State v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Brown, 563 S.E.2d 339, 349 S.C. 414, 2002 S.C. App. LEXIS 65 (S.C. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

SHULER, Judge:

Leonard Brown appeals the circuit court’s decision to revoke his probation for failing to fulfill a special condition. We reverse.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On January 13, 1992, an Aiken County grand jury indicted Leonard Brown on two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, first degree. Brown subsequently pled guilty to both offenses and the trial court sentenced him to eight years imprisonment on the first count. On the second count, the court sentenced Brown to a concurrent twenty-year term, suspended upon the service of five years probation. In so doing, the court imposed additional conditions of probation including a requirement that Brown “[m]ust obtain treatment for problem.” The sentencing sheet for this offense also reflected that Brown was to “get treatment” as part of his probationary sentence.

In August 1996, after serving four and one half years of his eight-year sentence, Brown was paroled and began his five-year probationary period. On February 4, 1998, the Depart[416]*416ment of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services (DPPPS) referred him to Denmark Mental Health for sex offender counseling. Although Brown attended all scheduled therapy sessions, he refused to admit his guilt for the crimes to which he had pled guilty. Believing this refusal was hindering effective treatment, Brown’s counselor consulted with his probation officer, Agent Heather Craven. As a result, Craven served Brown with a Probation Citation for violating Condition 12 of the standard probation form “and the special con”

On April 7, Brown’s counselor closed his case file with the following notation:

The purpose of this session was to communicate with another agency about the [client] and his treatment. I spoke to Ms. Craven from Probation and Parole. We discussed the fact that Leonard had not wanted to work on the problem that he was sent in for. Because he had been dealing with the issue of being charged with CSC and served time for five years, his not admitting to the issues was not just a denial stage. I wanted to finalize the decision to keep the chart open or to close it. [Craven] agreed that we would close it and let the courts decide if they want him to return. It was noted that Leonard did attend all scheduled sessions^,] the issue was not that he was not coming in, just that we were not working on the issues that the courts sent him for. With this, the chart will be closed. (Emphasis added).

DPPPS held an administrative hearing the same day. The hearing officer found Brown violated probation but recommended the case be “FORWARDED FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW AND CLARIFICATION OF SPECIAL CONDITION.” The hearing officer’s justification summary also declared the matter is referred to the Court for a clarification of the special condition requiring Brown to “obtain treatment for his problem[.]”

The circuit court held a revocation hearing on November 30, 1998. Upon learning Brown was indigent and not represented by counsel, the court appointed an attorney present in the courtroom, Norma Jett, and stated: “Ma'am, I would like to go ahead and do it this afternoon if you tell me you’ve had adequate time to talk to him.” After a pause to consult with [417]*417Brown and Theodore Weathersbee from DPPPS, Jett represented Brown during the hearing.

According to Jett, Weathersbee assured her prior to the proceeding that DPPPS was not seeking revocation, but merely wanted a clarification of the trial court’s “vague probation order” because it was unclear whether the language “seek treatment for problem” required Brown to admit guilt as part of his mandatory therapy. Indeed, Weathersbee initially stated on the record that “all that we would ask is the court for clarification of the special condition requiring Mr. Brown to obtain treatment for his problem.” After further discussion, however, the circuit court revoked Brown’s probation finding he did not do “that which is necessary to receive the proper mental health counseling for sex offenders,” and reinstated seven years of his original twenty-year sentence.

The following day, pursuant to Jett’s Rule 29, SCRCrimP motion, the court reheard arguments concerning the revocation. At that time, Weathersbee admitted speaking -with Jett about the meaning of “[m]ust obtain treatment for problem”:

I did indicate to [Jett], your honor, that [the order] did not say must attend and successfully complete. I made the statement to Ms. Jet[t], you know, must obtain treatment for problem. Could that be one day, one week, one year, what did that entail----
Your honor, in the most ordinary circumstance most judges would say attend and successfully complete, that’s been our history. This just says must obtain treatment for problem ....

In response, the court stated:

And it just goes -without saying, Mr. Weathersbee, that like I’ve ordered on several sentences this week, must obtain mental health and follow all the advice. I don’t add onto that and successfully complete the program. That goes without saying____That’s inclusive of the order for mental health counseling. (Emphasis added).

The court then denied the motion and this appeal followed.

LAW/ANALYSIS

Although a decision to revoke probation generally rests within the circuit court’s discretion, an appellate court should [418]*418reverse when that decision is based on an error of law or lacks supporting evidence. See State v. Proctor, 345 S.C. 299, 546 S.E.2d 673 (Ct.App.2001); State v. Hamilton, 333 S.C. 642, 511 S.E.2d 94 (Ct.App.1999).

Here, the probation order unambiguously stated Brown was to “obtain treatment” for his problem; it did not specifically order him to complete treatment. Nor did it specify that Brown “must follow all advice” or anything of that nature. Moreover, even if the order were interpreted to mean Brown had to successfully complete a treatment program, it did not on its face require him to complete a particular sex offender program or admit his guilt in order to do so. Finally, the record reflects the order’s vague directive to “obtain treatment for problem” clearly resulted in confusion among the complaining probation agent, Brown’s mental health counselor, the DPPPS administrative hearing officer, and the DPPPS prosecuting officer, as demonstrated by the clinician’s note, the DPPPS “Summary of Administrative Hearing,” and Mr. Weathersbee’s own statements at the revocation hearings.

Interestingly, the respondent’s brief notes that “other jurisdictions have upheld probation violations ... provided the offender was on notice that his failure to admit guilt at his counseling sessions would be considered a violation.” (Emphasis added). Brown, of course, could not have been on such notice because everyone involved with his case sought clarification of the probation order from the circuit court. The cases cited by the respondent, therefore, are readily distinguished.

In State v. Webb, 673 A.2d 1345

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Francis
Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2020
State v. Herndon
742 S.E.2d 375 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2013)
State v. Allen
634 S.E.2d 653 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2006)
State v. Brown
589 S.E.2d 188 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2003)
State v. Crouch
585 S.E.2d 288 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2003)
State v. Brown
563 S.E.2d 339 (Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
563 S.E.2d 339, 349 S.C. 414, 2002 S.C. App. LEXIS 65, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brown-scctapp-2002.