State v. Settle

512 P.2d 46, 20 Ariz. App. 283, 1973 Ariz. App. LEXIS 704
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJuly 12, 1973
Docket1 CA-CR 514
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 512 P.2d 46 (State v. Settle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Settle, 512 P.2d 46, 20 Ariz. App. 283, 1973 Ariz. App. LEXIS 704 (Ark. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

OGG, Judge.

On April 6, 1971 the defendant, Wayne E. Settle, entered a plea of guilty to the charge of grant theft; imposition of sentence was suspended for a period of five years.

On April 24, 1972 the defendant, with counsel, appeared at a revocation of probation hearing which resulted in the trial court revoking defendant’s probation and sentencing him to a term of not less than two nor more than three years in prison. Defendant brings this appeal, alleging the trial court did not comply with the due process requirements of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution as set forth in the case of Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972).

Defendant alleges he was denied due process of law in that no preliminary hearing was ever held to determine whether there was probable cause to revoke his probation. He further claims that at the only hearing held on his revocation he was given no written notice of the claimed violation, the evidence of the violation was not disclosed to him, he was not allowed to confront the witnesses against him and the revoking judge did not state the evidence relied upon or the reasons for the revocation.

The transcript discloses that the defendant appeared at the revocation hearing with counsel; when confronted by the probation officer’s report of alleged violations, the defendant and his wife gave sworn testimony. The hearing was covered by a court reporter and the defendant readily admitted to the trial judge that he had violated the terms of his probation by failing to make restitution and by leaving the state without permission.

*285 It is clear that the trial court complied with the then known requirements for the revocation of probation. Counsel was present as required by Leonard v. State, 101 Ariz. 42, 415 P.2d 570 (1966). See also Mempa v. Rhay, 389 U.S. 128, 88 S.Ct. 254, 19 L.Ed.2d 336 (1967). The revocation hearing and sentence was not arbitrary. State v. Douglas, 87 Ariz. 182, 349 P.2d 622 (1960). The hearing conformed to the essentials of due process as required by our Arizona decisions and generally complied with the spirit of Morrissey, supra. State v. Ferguson, 109 Ariz. 254, 508 P.2d 330 (1973); State v. Sanchez, 19 Ariz.App. 253, 506 P.2d 644 (1973); State v. Hunt, 13 Ariz.App. 267, 475 P.2d 752 (1970).

We would now affirm this case on the record except for the recent United States Supreme Court decision of Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973); State v. Marlar, 20 Ariz.App. 191, 511 P.2d 204 (filed June 28, 1973). The Court held that due process mandates two hearings — a preliminary and a final revocation hearing — in the case of a probationer under the same conditions as are specified in Morrissey, supra, in the case of a parolee.

This is the mandate of Gagnon, supra, although we believe that under Arizona law there are significant differences between parole revocation procedures and the probation process. In Arizona judicial management and supervision of the probationary process are provided, as distinguished from administrative management in the parole process. Compare A.R.S. § 13-1657 with A.R.S. § 31-401 through 414. This distinction was noted by Justice Douglas in his separate opinion in Morrissey in which he stated that since parole, unlike probation, is largely administrative, it requires closer scrutiny and stricter rules to insure due process.

It is clear that the trial judge, like all Arizona trial judges to the best of our knowledge, did not conduct two separate hearings and that this is now required where probation is revoked and the defendant is incarcerated.

Justice Powell in Gagnon sets down the requirements for the two hearings in the revocation of probation as follows:

“In Morrissey, we recognized that the revocation decision has two analytically distinct components:
‘The first step in a revocation decision involves a wholly retrospective factual question: whether the parolee has in fact acted in violation of one or more conditions of his parole. Only if it is determined that the parolee did violate the conditions does the second question arise: should the parolee be recommitted to prison or should other steps be taken to protect society and improve chances of rehabilitation?’ Morrissey v. Brewer, supra, 408 U.S. at 479-480, 92 S.Ct. 2593.”
5¡C j}í 9fC ‡ íjí
“The final hearing is a less summary one because the decision under consideration is the ultimate decision to revoke rather than a mere determination of probable cause, but the ‘minimum requirements of due process’ include very similar elements:
‘(a) written notice of the claimed violations of [probation or] parole; (b) disclosures to the [probationer or] parolee of evidence against him; (c) opportunity to be heard in person and to present witnesses and documentary evidence; (d) the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses (unless the hearing officer specifically finds good cause for not allowing confrontation); (e) a “neutral and detached” hearing body such as a traditional parole board, members of which need not be judicial officers or lawyers; and (f) a written statement by the factfinders as to the evidence relied on and reasons for revoking [probation or] parole.’ Morrissey v. Brewer, supra, 408 U.S. at 489, 92 S.Ct. 2593.”

Unfortunately, the requirements of Morrissey and Gagnon were nonexistent at the *286 time the drafters prepared the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, which become effective September 1, 1973.

It would appear that the proper guidelines for the trial courts of Arizona to follow in compliance with the recent United States Supreme Court’s cases of Morrissey and Gagnon and our own new Rules of Criminal Procedure would be as follows:

1. If he has reasonable cause to believe a probationer has violated the terms of probation, the probation officer responsible for the probationer’s conduct or the county attorney of the county in which the probationer was convicted may petition the sentencing court to revoke probation. See Rule 27.5a., Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S.

2.

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

Related

State v. Vita Lashona Flowers
768 P.2d 201 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1989)
State v. Reidhead
731 P.2d 126 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1986)
State v. Jenson
597 P.2d 554 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1979)
State v. Rivera
569 P.2d 1347 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1977)
State v. Tubbs
568 P.2d 1144 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1977)
State v. Turnbull
560 P.2d 807 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1977)
State v. Espinoza
555 P.2d 318 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1976)
State v. Baylis
553 P.2d 675 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1976)
State v. Zajac
550 P.2d 639 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1976)
State v. Jameson
541 P.2d 912 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1975)
State v. Gray
538 P.2d 1160 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1975)
State v. Brown
532 P.2d 167 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1975)
State v. Salinas
532 P.2d 174 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1975)
Keller v. Superior Court in & for Cty. of Maricopa
524 P.2d 956 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1974)
State v. Vasquez
523 P.2d 88 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1974)
State v. Rahe
522 P.2d 775 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1974)
Brandt v. Percich
507 S.W.2d 951 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1974)
Moore v. Stamps
507 S.W.2d 939 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1974)
State v. Magallanes
517 P.2d 505 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1973)
State v. Griggs
515 P.2d 46 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
512 P.2d 46, 20 Ariz. App. 283, 1973 Ariz. App. LEXIS 704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-settle-arizctapp-1973.