Opinion ID: 883894
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: assurances from his probation officer

Text: After his arrests in Utah, Hardy faced three felony charges. Ultimately, however, he pled no contest to three misdemeanor charges and avoided felony convictions. Hardy asserts that Dave Robbins, his Montana probation officer, assured him that his probation would not be revoked for misdemeanor convictions. He contends that, based on those assurances, his probation should not have been revoked. Dave Robbins, however, contended that he did not make any unconditional assurances or guarantees; rather, he spoke generally about the State of Montana's procedures. In his affidavit, Robbins stated: I informed ... Hardy that our general policy was that if a misdemeanor crime was committed and the supervising state agreed to continue supervision that no revocation proceeding is initiated ... [t]hat decisions regarding the filing of a Petition for Revocation are within the exclusive discretion of the county attorney and my responsibility is only to report infractions and make recommendations. The District Court's findings and conclusions are based on an acceptance of Robbins' version of his conversations with Hardy and his Utah attorney. Furthermore, Montana officials did not participate in the plea negotiations between Hardy and the State of Utah. Finally, Hardy knowingly, voluntarily, and with the assistance of counsel entered into a no contest plea agreement which included the following language: I know and understand the nature and the elements of the charges pending against me ... no one has made any promises or threats to induce me to plead guilty or no contest. My plea of guilty or no contest today is my own voluntary decision. We conclude that the District Court's findings regarding Robbins' representations to Hardy were not clearly erroneous, and that the District Court's conclusion that the State was not estopped from proceeding with revocation proceedings based on those representations, was correct.