State v. Melony Brandon ( 2010 )


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  •              IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
    AT NASHVILLE            FILED
    DECEMBER 1998 SESSION
    March 2, 1999
    Cecil W. Crowson
    Appellate Court Clerk
    STATE OF TENNESSEE,                 )
    )   C.C.A. NO. 01C01-9803-CC-00147
    Appellee,              )
    )    MAURY COUNTY
    VS.                                 )
    )    HON. JIM T. HAMILTON,
    MELONY BRANDON,                     )    JUDGE
    )
    Appellant.             )    (Probation Revocation)
    FOR THE APPELLANT:                      FOR THE APPELLEE:
    GREGORY D. SMITH                        JOHN KNOX WALKUP
    One Public Square, Suite 321            Attorney General & Reporter
    Clarksville, TN 37040
    (On Appeal)                       DARYL J. BRAND
    Asst. Attorney General
    CLAUDIA JACK                            Cordell Hull Bldg., 2nd Fl.
    District Public Defender                425 Fifth Ave., North
    Nashville, TN 37243-0493
    BEVERLY J. WHITE
    Asst. Public Defender                   MIKE BOTTOMS
    809 South Main St., Suite 200           District Attorney General
    Columbia, TN 38401
    (At Trial & On Appeal)           STELLA HARGROVE
    Asst. District Attorney General
    P.O. Box 1619
    Columbia, TN 38401-1619
    OPINION FILED:
    AFFIRMED
    JOHN H. PEAY,
    Judge
    OPINION
    On March 7, 1997, the defendant pled guilty to forgery, vandalism, and
    theft.1 The trial court sentenced the defendant to a total of eight years in the Tennessee
    Department of Correction. The sentence was immediately suspended and the defendant
    was placed on supervised probation. On January 12, 1998, the defendant’s probation
    officer filed a petition to revoke her probation. After a probation revocation hearing, the
    trial court revoked the defendant’s probation. The defendant now appeals. After a
    review of the record and applicable law, we find no merit to the defendant’s contentions
    and thus affirm the judgment of the court below.
    It is undisputed that the defendant violated several terms of her probation.
    At the probation revocation hearing, the testimony indicated that the defendant had failed
    to maintain employment and/or provide employment verification, had failed to report to
    her probation officer, had failed to pay court ordered fees and expenses, and had failed
    to pay probation fees. The evidence further indicated that after ten months on probation,
    the defendant had paid approximately forty dollars ($40) toward the nearly twenty-
    thousand dollars ($20,000) in court ordered fees and restitution. The defendant claimed
    she had obtained employment but did not report it to her probation officer, Mark Mays,
    because she was being paid “under the table.” The defendant also insisted that she did
    not report to Mr. Mays because she did not have a ride and she could not get in touch
    with him to explain or reschedule her appointment because he was out of the office. The
    defendant further claimed that when she finally did report to Mr. Mays’ office, he was
    meeting with someone else and, as she was in a hurry, she could not wait. In addition,
    the defendant testified that she had started nursing school in an effort to obtain a job that
    1
    Although not an issue in the case at bar, we note that the defendant’s name is spelled
    “Melanie Brandon” on the cover of the appellate briefs and “Melony Brandon” on her indictment. It is the
    policy of this C ourt to spe ll a defend ant’s nam e as it app ears on the indictm ent.
    2
    would enable her to pay restitution.
    The defendant now contends that the trial court erred in revoking her
    probation. When a trial judge finds that a probationer has violated the conditions of his
    or her probation, the trial judge has the authority to revoke probation. See T.C.A. § 40-
    35-310. In determining whether or not to do so, the trial judge need not find beyond a
    reasonable doubt that a violation of the terms of probation has occurred. The existence
    of a violation need only be supported by a preponderance of the evidence. T.C.A. § 40-
    35-311(d).
    In probation revocation hearings, the credibility of the witnesses is for the
    determination of the trial judge. Bledsoe v. State, 
    387 S.W.2d 811
    , 814 (Tenn. 1965);
    State v. Delp, 
    614 S.W.2d 395
    , 398 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1980). On review, the findings of
    the trial judge have the weight of a jury verdict. Delp, 614 S.W.2d at 398; Carver v. State,
    
    570 S.W.2d 872
    , 875 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1978). We will not disturb the judgment of the
    trial judge in the absence of an abuse of discretion. For this Court to find an abuse of the
    trial court’s discretion, the defendant must demonstrate “that the record contains no
    substantial evidence to support the conclusion of the trial judge that a violation of the
    conditions of probation has occurred.” State v. Harkins, 
    811 S.W.2d 79
    , 82 (Tenn. 1991).
    In the case at bar, the defendant concedes that she violated the terms of
    her probation. However, she contends that the trial court erred in not allowing her to
    remain on supervised probation.
    The defendant argues that it was error for the trial court to consider the
    State’s implication that the defendant failed to contact Mr. Mays because she was unable
    to pass a drug screen. However, there was no indication that the court considered this
    3
    as a factor in the decision to revoke the defendant’s probation. As such, this contention
    is without merit.
    The defendant further contends that her failure to pay restitution and court-
    ordered fees should not have been considered by the trial court. She argues that even
    though she was indigent and usually unemployed throughout her probation, she paid
    some form of restitution, albeit a minimal amount, for four months. In addressing the
    issue of indigency as a basis for probation revocation, the Tennessee Supreme Court
    has found that
    [i]n revocation proceedings for failure to pay a fine or restitution,
    a sentencing court must inquire into the reasons for the failure to
    pay. If the probationer willfully refused to pay or failed to make
    sufficient bona fide efforts legally to acquire the resources to pay,
    the court may revoke probation . . . .
    State v. Dye, 
    715 S.W.2d 36
    , 40 (Tenn. 1986)(quoting Bearden v. Georgia, 
    461 U.S. 660
    ,
    672-73 (1983)).
    In the case at bar, the defendant testified that she was employed at Tillie’s
    Market from March 1997 until November 1997. The defendant claims that she enrolled
    in nursing school in November 1997 and began working as a Nursing Assistant at NHC
    Columbia Healthcare in January 1998.                  However, at the revocation hearing, the
    defendant did not introduce any evidence to corroborate her testimony. In addition, the
    defendant failed to offer any evidence that she was unable to pay the court ordered fees.2
    Under these circumstances, it could easily be found that the defendant “willfully refused
    to pay or failed to make sufficient bona fide efforts legally to acquire the resources to pay”
    court ordered fees. Id.        As such, it was not error for the trial court to consider the
    defendant’s failure to pay court-ordered fees and restitution at the probation revocation
    2
    Although the defendant now implies that she was indigent, she also admits that she held the
    same job for nine m onths and that she received a payche ck, albeit in cash, from that employer.
    4
    hearing.
    The defendant also challenges the trial court’s consideration of the
    defendant’s failure to report to Mr. Mays. The defendant argues that although the trial
    court found that if she was unable to reach Mr. Mays by telephone she should have
    written him a letter, the trial court failed to note that Mr. Mays was not present to testify
    at the revocation hearing. The defendant contends that if the State, Mr. Mays’ employer,
    had trouble locating him, then “it is not far-fetched to believe that [the defendant] would
    have trouble locating [him] . . . .” This contention is meritless. The defendant concedes
    that she did not report to her probation officer. In addition, as it is within the discretion
    of the trial court to decide the credibility of the witnesses, it was not an abuse of discretion
    for the trial court to disbelieve the defendant’s excuses. As such, it was not error for the
    trial court to consider the defendant’s failure to report to her probation officer as grounds
    for probation revocation.
    In sum, the defendant failed to report to her probation officer, failed to pay
    court costs and restitution, and failed to maintain and/or provide verification of
    employment. Therefore, it was not error for the trial court to revoke her probation and
    reinstate the original sentence. See T.C.A. § 40-35-310, -311 (1997). Accordingly, we
    affirm the judgment of the court below.
    ______________________________
    JOHN H. PEAY, Judge
    CONCUR:
    ______________________________
    JOSEPH M. TIPTON, Judge
    5
    ______________________________
    NORMA McGEE OGLE, Judge
    6
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 01C01-9803-CC-00147

Filed Date: 12/1/2010

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/30/2014