MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Jan 31 2020, 5:55 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Thomas P. Keller Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
South Bend, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Benjamin J. Shoptaw
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Orlando D.D. Mitchell, January 31, 2020
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
19A-CR-1816
v. Appeal from the St. Joseph
Superior Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Jane Woodward
Appellee-Plaintiff. Miller, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
71D01-1801-F5-20
Mathias, Judge.
[1] The St. Joseph Superior Court revoked Orlando Mitchell’s (“Mitchell”)
probation and ordered him to serve the entirety of his five-year sentence at
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Michiana Community Corrections. Mitchell appeals and argues that the trial
court violated his due process rights when it revoked his probation and failed to
enter a written statement of the facts supporting the revocation.
[2] We affirm.
Facts & Procedural History
[3] On January 31, 2018, the State charged Mitchell with Level 5 felony possession
of cocaine, Level 6 felony possession of a controlled substance, and Class B
misdemeanor possession of marijuana. In September 2018, Mitchell pleaded
guilty to Level 5 felony possession of cocaine, and the remaining charges were
dismissed. He was ordered to serve five years with two years suspended. The
executed portion of his sentence was to be served through St. Joseph County
Community Corrections.
[4] On January 3, 2019, staff members from St. Joseph County Community
Corrections conducted a home visit. During a search of Mitchell’s bedroom,
staff members found a leafy substance, digital scales with residue, spoons with
burn marks, and a glass smoking pipe. The community correction staffers
requested assistance from the South Bend Police Department. Police officers
obtained a search warrant for Mitchell’s home. During the search, police
officers found marijuana and cocaine. The officers found a handgun hidden in a
child’s backpack in Mitchell’s bedroom. Mitchell was the only resident of the
home who had children.
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[5] On January 7, 2019, the State filed a petition to revoke Mitchell’s probation
and/or placement. At the revocation hearing held on June 3, 2019, Mitchell
argued that the basement bedroom where the contraband was discovered was
not his bedroom but belonged to another resident of the home. The trial court
did not find Mitchell credible and noted that Mitchell’s personal items were
found in the basement bedroom where the contraband was discovered.
Mitchell’s wallet, paternity documents for his child, his child’s birth certificate,
his credit card, utility bills addressed to Mitchell, his girlfriend’s picture, and a
child’s backpack were found in the bedroom. The court concluded Mitchell
violated the terms and conditions of his placement in Community Corrections
by possessing the handgun found in the child’s backpack in his bedroom. Tr. p.
70.
[6] Following the revocation hearing, the trial court issued a written order revoking
Mitchell’s probation. The order did not contain a written statement of facts
supporting the revocation, but provided that the trial court found that Mitchell
violated the conditions of his probation or placement “[f]or the reasons stated at
hearing.” Appellant’s App. p. 60. At the July 18, 2019 sentencing hearing, the
trial court ordered Mitchell to serve the balance of his five-year sentence
executed in the Michiana Community Corrections Program. Mitchell now
appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[7] Probationers are not entitled to the full array of constitutional rights afforded
defendants at trial, but the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
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imposes procedural and substantive limits on the revocation of the conditional
liberty afforded by probation. Woods v. State, 892 N.E.2d 637, 640 (Ind. 2008)
(citations omitted). Due process requires that a probationer is given: (a) written
notice of the claimed violations of probation; (b) disclosure of the evidence
against him; (c) an opportunity to be heard and present evidence; (d) the right to
confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses; and (e) a neutral and detached
hearing body. Id. Finally, due process requires “a written statement by the
factfinder as to the evidence relied on and reasons for revoking probation.”
Terrell v. State, 886 N.E.2d 98, 101 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008), trans. denied; see also
Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 489 (1972).
[8] Mitchell argues only that his due process rights were violated because the trial
court’s written order revoking his probation did not state the facts the court
relied on in determining that Mitchell violated the terms of his probation. But
the written requirement “may be satisfied by placement of the transcript of the
evidentiary hearing in the record if the transcript contains a clear statement of
the trial court’s reasons for revoking probation.” Washington v. State, 758 N.E.2d
1014, 1018 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001) (citing Crump v. State, 740 N.E.2d 564, 568
(Ind. Ct. App. 2000), trans. denied); see also Hubbard v. State, 683 N.E.2d 618, 621
(Ind. Ct. App. 1997) (stating that our court has “held that placing the transcript
of the evidentiary hearing in the record, although not the preferred way of
fulfilling the writing requirement, is sufficient if it contains a clear statement of
the trial court’s reasons for revoking probation”).
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[9] Here, at the evidentiary hearing, the trial court gave a clear statement of its
reasons for finding that Mitchell violated the terms of his placement. The trial
court discussed the contraband found in Mitchell’s bedroom and found that
Mitchell’s claim that the bedroom belonged to another resident of the house
was not credible. The trial court ultimately concluded that Mitchell violated the
terms and conditions of his probation and placement by possessing the handgun
hidden in the child’s backpack that was discovered in Mitchell’s bedroom. Tr.
p. 70. Although we prefer that the trial court issue a written statement detailing
the trial court’s reasons for revoking probation, the trial court clearly stated its
reasons for revoking Mitchell’s probation at the hearing. Moreover, in its
written order, the trial court found that Mitchell violated the conditions of his
probation or placement “[f]or the reasons stated at the hearing.” Appellant’s
App. p. 60. Under these facts and circumstances, we conclude that Mitchell has
not established a violation of his due process rights and affirm the trial court’s
order revoking his probation.
[10] Affirmed.
Kirsch, J., and Bailey, J., concur.
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