CLIFFORD COUCH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that a probation revocation cannot be based solely on hearsay evidence.
Appellant was placed on probation after pleading guilty to possession of marijuana and was subsequently charged with violating probation conditions. A…
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OTT, Judge.
Clifford Couch appeals from the revocation of his probation. Appellant was placed on probation after pleading guilty to possession of marijuana. He was subsequently charged with violating various conditions of the probation. A hearing was held on the violations.
The trial court found that appellant had violated the conditions of probation. The court revoked probation and sentenced appellant to two years.
Appellant contends that the trial court erred in revoking probation where the only evidence of violations was hearsay. After examining the record on appeal, we agree that the revocation was based solely upon hearsay evidence and must be reversed.
A probation revocation proceeding is a relatively informal proceeding and hearsay evidence may be received and considered provided some competent and legally admissible evidence is presented upon which the trial judge can base his decision. A revocation cannot be based solely on hearsay. Tuff v. State, 338 So. 2d 1335 (Fla.2d DCA 1976); Brown v. State, 338 So. 2d 573 (Fla.2d DCA 1976). Cf. Bernhardt v. State, 288 So. 2d 490 (Fla.1974).
This reversal does not bar a second revocation hearing based upon another affidavit charging the same violations and competent evidence. See Tuff v. State, supra.
REVERSED.
HOBSON, Acting C. J., and GRIMES, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Wheeler v. State, 344 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977)…a defendant’s probation cannot be revoked solely on the basis of hearsay evidence. White v. State, 301 So. 2d 464 (Fla.4th DCA 1974); Brown v. State, 338 So. 2d 573 (Fla.2d DCA 1976); Tuff v. State, 338 So. 2d 1335 (Fla.2d DCA 1976); Couch v. State, 341 So. 2d 285 (Fla.2d DCA 1977) opinion filed January 19, 1977. Some of the more significant constitutional issues in respect to admissibility of evidence have been clarified by recent decisions of the Florida Supreme Court.1 Once the affidavit from the Texas pr…
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Brown v. State, 659 So. 2d 1260 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…ce placing him on probation, because he accepted the benefits). Appellant also argues that revocation was improper because it was based exclusively on hearsay testimony. While hearsay testimony is admissible in a revocation hearing, Couch v. State, 341 So. 2d 285, 286 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977), a court cannot revoke [*1262] probation based solely on hearsay. Adams v. State, 521 So. 2d 337 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988). Here, the court found appellant guilty of changing his residence without permission, and the sole evidence…
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Miller v. State, 444 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…any, to the defense. It appears to be well settled now in Florida that hearsay is admissible in probation revocation proceedings. Cuciak v. State, 410 So. 2d 916, 918 (Fla.1982); Purvis v. State, 420 So. 2d 389 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Couch v. State, 341 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1977). It is equally clear, however, that a probation violation charge cannot be sustained by hearsay alone. Turner v. State, 293 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974); Clemons v. State, 388 So. 2d 639 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1980); Combs v. State, 351…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gideon Bernhardt v. State, 288 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1974)
- Tuff v. State, 338 So. 2d 1335 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)
- Brown v. State, 338 So. 2d 573 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)