Opinion ID: 483633
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Challenges to the Underlying Conviction

Text: 8 In addition to challenging the probation revocation, Simmons challenges the guilty plea which led to probation. He argues that the plea was coerced because he was denied medical care and treatment while in the custody of the United States Marshal's Office after his arrest. Irrespective of the merits of this claim, an appeal from a probation revocation is not the proper avenue for a collateral attack on the underlying conviction. United States v. Lustig, 555 F.2d 751, 753 (9th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1045, 98 S.Ct. 889, 54 L.Ed.2d 796 (1978). The conviction may be collaterally attacked only in a separate proceeding under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2255, and a court should consider the petition for probation revocation as if the underlying conviction was unquestioned. Id.; see also United States v. Torrez-Flores, 624 F.2d 776, 780-81 (7th Cir.1980); United States v. Francischine, 512 F.2d 827, 828-29 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 931, 96 S.Ct. 284, 46 L.Ed.2d 261 (1975).II. Right to Confront and Cross-Examine 9 Simmons challenges the use of VA Hospital records at the revocation hearing. He contends that their use was a denial of his right to confront and cross-examine the individuals who prepared these records. At the outset, we note that Simmons did not object to the admission of these documents at the revocation proceedings. Therefore, our inquiry is limited to whether the denial of confrontation and cross-examination constituted plain error. Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b); United States v. Kupau, 781 F.2d 740, 742-43 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 93, 93 L.Ed.2d 45 (1986). Under this standard, there must be a highly prejudicial error affecting substantial rights. United States v. Giese, 597 F.2d 1170, 1199 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 979, 100 S.Ct. 480, 62 L.Ed.2d 405 (1979). 10 In Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972), and Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973), the Supreme Court held that the confrontation clause, as incorporated by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, requires probationers and parolees to have some right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses. They possess the right unless the hearing officer specifically finds good cause for not allowing confrontation. Morrissey, 408 U.S. at 489, 92 S.Ct. at 2604; Gagnon, 411 U.S. at 786, 93 S.Ct. at 1761. At the same time, however, the revocation proceeding is not to be equated with a criminal prosecution. Less process is due at a revocation hearing, and that process must be flexible enough to allow the court to consider documentary evidence that may not meet usual evidentiary requirements. Morrissey, 408 U.S. at 489, 92 S.Ct. at 2604; Gagnon, 411 U.S. at 789, 93 S.Ct. at 1763. The Court did not intend to prohibit use where appropriate of the conventional substitutes for live testimony, including affidavits, depositions, and documentary evidence. Gagnon, 411 U.S. at 783 n. 5, 93 S.Ct. at 1760 n. 5. 11 The cases thus delineate a process of balancing the probationer's right to confrontation against the Government's good cause for denying it. In particular, good cause may arise from the difficulty and expense of procuring witnesses. Id. Our cases also suggest that the reliability of evidence may provide a basis for its admission. In United States v. Miller, 514 F.2d 41 (9th Cir.1975), we found no violation of probationer's confrontation rights by the admission of unauthenticated copies of state court criminal records. 4 Although the records were hearsay, the probationer had not challenged their accuracy and the court found them sufficiently reliable. Id. at 42-43; see also United States v. Garcia, 771 F.2d 1369, 1372 & n. 3 (9th Cir.1985) (noting the court's emphasis on reliability); Ryan v. Montana, 580 F.2d 988, 992-93 (9th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 977, 99 S.Ct. 1548, 59 L.Ed.2d 796 (1979). Other circuits agree that hearsay evidence may be admissible in probation revocation hearings. See, e.g., United States v. McCallum, 677 F.2d 1024, 1026-27 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1010, 103 S.Ct. 365, 74 L.Ed.2d 400 (1982); Prellwitz v. Berg, 578 F.2d 190, 191-93 (7th Cir.1978); United States v. Pattman, 535 F.2d 1062, 1063-64 (8th Cir.1976). 12 In this case, the district court admitted copies of hospital records prepared by Simmons's attending physician and a Release of Information Clerk. 5 In light of the traditional indicia of reliability that these records bear, see McCormick on Evidence Sec. 313, at 882-85 (E. Cleary ed. 1984); United States v. Sackett, 598 F.2d 739, 742 (2d Cir.1979); Medina v. Erickson, 226 F.2d 475, 482-83 (9th Cir.1955), cert. denied, 351 U.S. 912, 76 S.Ct. 702, 100 L.Ed. 1446 (1956), and the diminished procedural protections which attach to a probation revocation proceeding, we cannot say that the admission of these records and the denial of Simmons's opportunity to confront and cross-examine the hospital personnel was plain error.