Opinion ID: 2539186
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Bearden Requirements Apply Even When Defendant Agrees to Payment of Child Support as Probation Condition Under Terms of Plea Agreement.

Text: The Commonwealth acknowledges that Gamble held payment of past due child support to be restitution and that Bearden requirements should generally apply to motions for revocation for failure to pay child support under Gamble. But the Commonwealth asserts that the Court of Appeals held in Gamble that Bearden does not apply where the probationer has specifically agreed to make payments as part of a plea agreement. We disagree. The Court of Appeals did not decide that precise issue in Gamble. The court noted that some jurisdictions found that Bearden did not apply in such a situation but declined to resolve the case on this basis because the parties had not argued this issue. [24] Ultimately, the court held that even assuming that Bearden requirements applied, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in revoking probation because of the probationer's refusal to testify about the reasons for his nonpayment, thus, preventing the trial court's inquiry into this matter. [25] We agree with the approach of the Court of Appeals in Johnson directing the trial court to focus on post-plea financial conditions because a defendant pleading guilty to flagrant nonsupport admits not making payments despite ability to do so, [26] but we do not agree with authority holding that a defendant's agreement to make payments under a plea agreement trumps the right he would otherwise have under Bearden for consideration of his reasons for nonpayment and possible consideration of alternative forms of punishment. [27] We recognize the legitimate interest of the Commonwealth that plea agreements accepted by trial courts should be enforced and that defendants should not escape responsibility for failing to comply with conditions to which they have agreed. Nonetheless, Bearden recognizes constitutional concerns with revoking probation for nonpayment based on poverty alone. And these constitutional concerns do not disappear simply because a defendant originally agreed to make payments in a plea bargain as opposed to the trial court imposing payment conditions in a probation order on its own initiative. Kentucky courts have long recognized such concerns. Even though the Court of Appeals indicated that consideration of the probationers' indigence was not required when revoking probation for failure to comply with payment conditions that the defendant specifically agreed to under a plea agreement in the pre-Bearden case of Polk v. Commonwealth , [28] we believe that trial courts of this Commonwealth customarily inquire into a probationer's reasons for not complying with payment conditions and consider alternative measures when poverty alone might be the reason for noncompliance with payment conditions. Experienced trial judges seek this information even in the absence of controlling authority specifically demanding that they do so. This is demonstrated by the actions of the trial court in Polk, which presented with a motion to revoke probation for the defendant's failure to comply with the agreed-upon probation condition that he make restitution payments, permitted inquiry into the defendant's financial condition [29] and discussed options for dealing with the violation before the defendant indicated he would rather go to prison than deal with other options. [30] About two years after Polk, the United States Supreme Court articulated in Bearden why such inquiries were required under due process and did so in such a way that make these requirements applicable even when a defendant committed to make payments under a plea agreement. We note the defendant in Bearden pled guilty to burglary and theft by knowingly receiving stolen property. The trial court did not enter judgment of guilt but deferred further proceedings and placed the defendant on probation with conditions of probation, including payment of a fine and restitution. [31] It appears that the defendant in Bearden did not agree to pay fines and restitution under a formal plea agreement, so it has been widely interpreted that these conditions were imposed on the defendant in Bearden without his consent. But we previously noted that sometimes informal plea agreements may be reached without being memorialized in writing, [32] so it may not always be clear whether a defendant has agreed to payment conditions imposed by a trial court when a defendant enters a guilty plea without a formal, written plea agreement appearing in the record. Despite the fact that the defendant in Bearden did not specifically agree to make payments a condition of his probation under a formal plea agreement, we believe Marshall's reply brief makes a good argument that Bearden is applicable to the cases at hand because [t]he focus of the Court's analysis was not whether the defendant bargained for the restitution and fine.... On the contrary, the focus of the Bearden decision was whether due process was violated by imposing a prison sentence for a defendant for whom the court had previously decided a loss of freedom was inappropriate but only changed its mind when the defendant became unable to pay despite good faith efforts to do so. And, as Marshall argues, the Bearden court distinguished between probationers who willfully refused to make the payments required as condition of their probation and probationers who made good faith efforts to pay but were unable to comply with such conditions because of circumstances beyond their control. But Bearden does not distinguish between those who agree to make payments under a plea agreement and those who are ordered by the trial court to make such payments as a condition of probation or conditional discharge. As Marshall points out, regardless of whether the defendant and the Commonwealth reach a formal plea agreement, ultimately, the trial court (not the parties) decides whether to grant probation or conditional discharge and whether to impose payment conditions. So the trial court imposes any payment conditions whether by accepting the parties' plea agreement or by acting on its own initiative. And even when conditions are imposed by the trial court rather than agreed to by the parties, a defendant must agree to the conditions of probation and is free to reject probation. [33] As Justice O'Connor wrote in Bearden, the initial decision to place a defendant on probation reflects a determination by the sentencing court that the State's penological interests do not require imprisonment. [34] Under Kentucky law, this same determination is made when placing a defendant on probation even when sentencing the defendant to probation according to the terms of the plea agreement. A trial court is not compelled to accept a plea agreement, [35] and a trial court may properly reject a plea agreement calling for probation if it finds that probation would not serve the Commonwealth's penological interests. [36] Often Kentucky trial courts grant probation or conditional discharge to those entering guilty pleas to flagrant nonsupport under plea agreements, perhaps recognizing that many defendants whose criminal offense is flagrant nonsupport do not require imprisonment to protect the public and could best correct their prior failure to support dependents by remaining out of prison to work and contribute income to their support obligations. But a trial court can properly deny probation and initially sentence a defendant to prison for flagrant nonsupport [37] when it finds that probation is inappropriatefor example, in the case of a defendant with an extensive criminal record. [38] In short, even where the trial court has granted probation to a defendant pleading guilty to flagrant nonsupport under a plea agreement in which the defendant agrees to make child support payments as a condition of probation, the trial court has initially determined that imprisonment is not necessary to serve the Commonwealth's penological interests. Because the trial court initially rejected a sentence of imprisonment, Bearden indicates that the trial court must determine in revocation proceedings whether a failure to comply with payment conditions means that imprisonment now becomes necessary to fulfill penological interests. Bearden holds that where the probationer has not made reasonable efforts to comply with payment conditions but has willfully refused to pay, the determination of whether imprisonment is required needs re-evaluation. [39] But where the probationer made reasonable efforts to pay and has complied with other conditions of probation but has been unable to comply with payment conditions through no fault of his own, it would be fundamentally unfair and a 14th Amendment due process violation [40] to revoke automatically without considering whether alternative punishments could adequately serve the state's penological interests. [41] Because imprisoning one who made sufficient bona fide attempts to pay but is simply too poor to make the required payments would not serve the interests of restitution or rehabilitation, the trial court need only assess whether imprisonment is necessary for the purposes of punishment and deterrence. [42] So the court considering a motion for revocation for failure to comply with payment conditions must determine whether the defendant has made sufficient bona fide efforts to make payments and, if so, must consider whether alternative punishments might satisfy the state's penological interests or whether imprisonment is still necessary for the purposes of punishment or deterrence. [43] Bearden recognized that once a defendant is probated, he then acquires an interest in remaining on probation rather than going to prison. [44] So the government must afford the probationer due process before revoking probation and sending him to prison. Because the Supreme Court did not explicitly hold that the due process requirements set forth in Bearden depend on the trial court imposing payment conditions on its own initiative rather than the defendant agreeing to such payment conditions, the defendant's agreement to payment conditions under a plea agreement does not remove the need for Bearden analysis before revocation.