Opinion ID: 728101
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence for Revocation

Text: 20 Teran contends that the evidence was insufficient to find that he had been driving while intoxicated in violation of the conditions of his probation and points to the fact that a jury acquitted him of his 1994 state DWI charge. To obtain reversal of a revocation order on the basis of evidentiary insufficiency, an appellant must show clearly that the revoking court abused its discretion. United States v. King, 990 F.2d 190, 193 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 881, 114 S.Ct. 223, 126 L.Ed.2d 179 (1993). 21 The revoking court must base a finding of a probation violation on a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Grandlund, 71 F.3d 507, 509 n. 2 (5th Cir.1995), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1031, 134 L.Ed.2d 108 (1996), clarified by, 77 F.3d 811 (5th Cir.1996). A review of the evidence demonstrates that the revoking court properly found that it was more likely than not that Teran committed the 1994 state DWI offense while on probation. At the revocation hearing, he admitted to consuming three beers a few hours before driving. There was testimony that his breath smelled of alcohol, that he performed poorly on field sobriety tests, and that he declined to take a breathalyser test. The revoking court did not believe Teran's explanations of innocence and explicitly stated, his testimony lacked credibility. Regardless of his acquittal by a jury, the revoking court had a preponderance of evidence before it to support the finding of this probation violation. 22