TW v. State

864 N.E.2d 361, 2007 WL 1121295
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in TW v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 760
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided April 16, 2007·No. 49A05-0608-JV-434·Published

Opinion

864 N.E.2d 361 (2007)

T.W., Appellant-Respondent,
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 49A05-0608-JV-434.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

April 16, 2007.

*362 Gregory Bowes, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Arthur Thaddeus Perry, Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

NAJAM, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

T.W. appeals from the trial court's determination that she violated the terms of her probation and suspended commitment, which had been imposed after she was adjudicated a delinquent child in two separate cases. She presents for review a single issue, which we restate as:

1. Whether the proceeding below was an action to adjudicate T.W. to be a delinquent child or, instead, was an action to determine whether T.W. had violated the terms of her probation and suspended commitment in two existing delinquency cases.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the trial court's order.

We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

T.W. was arrested on December 16, 2004, for Disorderly Conduct, as a Class B misdemeanor, and Resisting Law Enforcement, as a Class A misdemeanor, if committed by an adult. As a result, the State filed a petition under Cause Number 59D09-0412-JD005712 ("Cause Number 5712"), alleging T.W. to be a delinquent child. After the denial hearing on February 10, 2005, the trial court found true the resisting law enforcement allegation and adjudicated T.W. to be a delinquent child. The trial court placed T.W. on probation, with special conditions, and released her to the custody of her parent.

T.W. was arrested again on March 9, 2005, for battery, as a Class A misdemeanor if committed by an adult. The State filed a petition under Cause Number 49D09-0503-JD-00114 ("Cause Number 1144"), alleging T.W. to be a delinquent child for committing disorderly conduct on March 9, 2005, a Class B misdemeanor if committed by an adult, and a petition alleging that T.W. violated the terms of her probation in Cause Number 5712 because she committed battery on that same date. Under a plea agreement, T.W. admitted the allegation in the delinquency petition in Cause Number 1144, and the State moved to dismiss the probation violation petition in Cause Number 5712. The court awarded wardship of T.W. to the Indiana Department of Correction ("DOC") for housing in any correctional facility for children, with such commitment suspended; placed T.W. on probation, with special conditions; and released her to the custody of her mother.

*363 On January 5, 2006, the State filed an information alleging violations of probation in Cause Number 5712 and an information alleging violation of probation/suspended commitment in Cause Number 1144. Both petitions alleged:

1. Youth tested positive for THC (marijuana) upon submission of random urine screen at AIT Laboratories, located at 2265 Executive Drive, on 12/21/05.
2. On 01/03/06, at approximately 0900 hours, youth left her foster home residence located at 2946 N. Arsenal Avenue. As of 01/05/06 youth's whereabouts remain unknown to both her foster mother and the Court. . . .

Appellant's App. at 75, 195. On April 28, 2006, via a plea agreement, T.W. admitted the allegations that she had again violated the terms of her probation in Cause Number 5712 and the terms of her suspended commitment in Cause Number 1144. At the conclusion of a disposition hearing in both matters on May 18, 2006, in each case the trial court ordered the violation "closed" and adjudicated T.W. to be a delinquent child. In both cases, the court further awarded wardship of T.W. to the DOC, suspending that commitment and placing T.W. on probation with special conditions, including residential placement at Gerrard House and compliance with Gerrard House rules. The terms of T.W.'s probation and suspended commitment required her to "obey all rules and regulations of Gerrard House and keep them informed of [her] whereabouts at all times." Appellant's App. at 108.

On May 24, 2006, T.W. had permission to leave Gerrard House to attend G.E.D. classes and then to report to work. That day, T.W.'s employer informed Gerrard House that T.W. had not reported for work. Gerrard House personnel reported T.W. as a runaway because they did not know where she was. T.W. later phoned to say that she had been at her sister's home. Gerrard House personnel instructed T.W. to return immediately, but T.W. did not return for several hours.

Later on May 24, 2006, the State filed an "Information of Delinquent Child, Violation of Probation/Suspended Commitment." The State's petition alleged T.W. to be a delinquent child because she violated the conditions of her suspended commitment by "commit[ting] the act of Runaway[,]"[1]id. at 112, and requested the revocation of her probation and imposition of an alternative disposition. The court then held an initial hearing on the violation of probation/suspended commitment, and on June 19, 2006, the court held a denial hearing on the violation of probation/suspended commitment. On July 17, 2006, the trial court held a disposition hearing on the violation of probation/suspended commitment under both cause numbers,[2] after which the trial court found that the State had "met its burden by a preponderance of the evidence and viewed [T.W.] to be delinquent and violate[d] the probation." Transcript at 17. On that basis, and because T.W. was to turn eighteen years old in the following days, the trial court ordered T.W. to continue on informal probation, ordered her to pay fees, and released her to the custody of her mother. T.W. appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

T.W. frames the proceeding below as an action determining her to be a delinquent *364 child and, on appeal, contends that the evidence was insufficient to support the trial court's delinquency adjudication. The State counters that the information alleged a violation of T.W.'s probation and suspended commitment in two prior delinquency cases and was not, in itself, an information alleging delinquency. The State further argues that the evidence was sufficient to support the trial court's determination that T.W. violated the terms of her probation and suspended commitment. We address these issues in turn.

Issue One: Delinquency or Violation Proceeding

T.W. alleges that the proceeding below was one to determine whether she was a delinquent child for committing the act of leaving home, as defined by Indiana Code Section 31-37-2-2. The State contends that the information alleged a delinquent act only as the basis for its request that T.W.'s probation and suspended commitment be revoked. We agree with the State.

The State filed an information entitled "Information of Delinquent Child, Violation of Probation/Suspended Commitment." Appellant's App. at 112. The information alleged, in part, that T.W. "on or about 24th day of May, 2006, is a delinquent child in this to-wit [sic]: At and in the County of Marion, State of Indiana[,] violates the conditions of: Suspended Commitment in that: Youth Committed the act of Runaway on 5/24/2006, at 0045 hours, at 5920 E. Washington." Id. The State then requested relief as follows: "As a result of the above-mentioned facts, the Probation Department is requesting a revocation of probation and alternative disposition imposed [sic]." Id.

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TW v. State, 864 N.E.2d 361, 2007 WL 1121295 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).

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