MAURIO BOYD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Boyd appeals the revocation of his probation based on a new law violation of battery on a pregnant woman. The court reversed the revocation, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking probation based solely on uncorroborated hearsay evidence without sufficient nonhearsay corroboration.
The court reversed the revocation, holding that hearsay evidence cannot be the sole basis for revoking probation; it must be supported by nonhearsay evidence. The probation officer's hearsay testimony regarding the battery was not sufficiently corroborated by nonhearsay evidence, as Boyd's testimony only established that an argument occurred and a broken knife was present, without any direct evidence of injury or battery.
[1] Hearsay evidence is admissible in probation revocation proceedings but cannot be the sole evidence used to establish a violation.
[2] Hearsay evidence presented at a probation revocation hearing must be supported by nonhearsay evidence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is well settled that hearsay is admissible in revocation of probation proceedings, but it cannot be the sole evidence used to find a violation. Rather, the hearsay evidence must be supported by nonhearsay evidence, and the State must establish the violation by the greater weight of the evidence.”
Establishes the controlling legal standard for probation revocation hearings—hearsay must be corroborated by nonhearsay evidence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBoyd was sentenced to 24 months' probation after pleading guilty to felonious possession of a firearm in December 2006. In August 2007, an affidavit a…
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Maurio Boyd seeks review of a judgment and sentence entered following the revocation of his probation based on a new law violation of battery on a pregnant woman. Boyd’s probation was revoked after a revocation hearing, and he was sentenced to 16.2 months on the original offense of felonious possession of a firearm. Because the revocation is based on hearsay alone, we reverse.
Boyd was sentenced to twenty-four months’ probation after pleading guilty to felonious possession of a firearm on December 11, 2006. On August 31, 2007, an affidavit of violation of probation was filed, alleging Boyd committed the new law violation of battery on a pregnant woman. A revocation hearing took place in which Boyd’s probation officer testified regarding Boyd’s arrest and the injury to the victim, Boyd’s girlfriend. This testimony, based solely on facts contained in the police report, established that officers responded to a call at an apartment in Clearwater and heard a female voice from inside say “Let me go. Let me go.” The officers heard arguing, knocked on the door, and when Boyd opened the door, the officers saw the victim with “some blood protruding from a hand.”
Boyd also testified, stating that he and his girlfriend were arguing in their apartment when the police arrived, that a broken knife was found on the floor, and that he knew his girlfriend was pregnant. However, he had no knowledge whether his girlfriend’s hand was bleeding.
Boyd argues on appeal that the trial court erred in revoking his probation based on hearsay and noncorroborative nonhearsay evidence only. We review a revocation of probation under an abuse of discretion standard. Russell v. State, 982 So.2d 642, 646 (Fla.2008). It is well settled that hearsay is admissible in revocation of probation proceedings, but it cannot be the sole evidence used to find a violation. Id. Rather, the hearsay evidence must be supported by nonhearsay evidence, and the State must establish the violation by the greater weight of the evidence. Id.
Hearsay evidence in the form of a victim’s statement, combined with non-hearsay evidence corroborating the statement, is often sufficient to support a violation of probation. See Russell, 982 So.2d at 646; M.S. v. State, 987 So.2d 774 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008); Kalmbach v. State, 988 So.2d 1279 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008). In Russell, the supreme court found that under the facts of that case, nonhearsay evidence, including testimony of an observation of victim injury, was sufficient to support the victim’s hearsay statement al*1188leging battery. 982 So.2d at 648. In that case, “[t]he court was able to compare both the oral and written hearsay accounts to the type of injury described by the deputy, and the court was able to directly assess the credibility on the stand of both Russell and the [responding] deputy.” Id. at 648.
In this case, Boyd’s probation officer presented hearsay evidence of the circumstances leading to Boyd’s arrest for battery. However, this hearsay testimony was not supported by testimony from an arresting officer, direct observation of victim injury, or a statement from the victim either through hearsay or direct testimony. The only nonhearsay evidence was presented by Boyd, whose testimony established only that he and his pregnant girlfriend argued and that a broken knife was on the floor of the apartment. This evidence is insufficient to support the hearsay testimony of battery presented by the probation officer.1
We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking Boyd’s probation based on uncorroborated hearsay evidence, and we reverse the revocation order as well as the judgment and sentence entered pursuant to that order. We note that double jeopardy does not preclude a second revocation hearing based on the filing of a new affidavit alleging the same violation. Scott v. State, 937 So.2d 746, 748 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); Keith-Schrader v. State, 891 So.2d 1217, 1218 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005).
Reversed and remanded.
FULMER and WALLACE, JJ., Concur.
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Rodgers v. State, 171 So. 3d 236 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…icient alone to establish a violation. See id. at 145 (and cases cited therein). The hearsay must be corroborated by non-hearsay evidence. See Russell, 982 So. 2d at 646; McDoughall v. State, 133 So. 3d 1097, 1099 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014); Boyd v. State, 1 So. 3d 1186, 1187 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). However, “[cjorroboration of every aspect [of the violation alleged] should not be required in order to establish that the probationer committed [the violation] for the purpose of revoking probation.” Russell, 982 So. 2d at…
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Romaine Nugent v. State, 45 So. 3d 528 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)…ellate courts review a trial court’s decision on revocation of probation under an abuse of discretion standard. Russell v. State, 982 So. 2d 642 (Fla.2008). The state must establish the violation by the greater weight of the evidence. Boyd v. State, 1 So. 3d 1186 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). Nugent argues that the state failed to carry its burden of proving a substantial and willful violation of his community control by committing a battery on a person over 65, because the state relied solely on the hearsay statemen…
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Graham v. Fla. Parole Comm'n & Edwin G. Buss, 58 So. 3d 316 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)…ce of a struggle, a bruise and bite mark on one victim, the distraught appearance of both mother and daughter, and the belligerent attitude of the defendant at the scene. However, [*318] revocation based solely on hearsay is improper. Boyd v. State, 1 So. 3d 1186 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). There must be some direct evidence in addition to the hearsay. The Parole Commission relies on Russell, Morris, Arndt v. State, 815 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002) (upholding probation revocation where the victim told the deputy…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Russell v. State, 982 So. 2d 642 (Fla. 2008)
- Scott v. State, 937 So. 2d 746 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
- Kalmbach v. State, 988 So. 2d 1279 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)
- Keith-Schrader v. State, 891 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
- Romero v. State, 987 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)