Court Opinion

ID: 9670402
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:19:56.089776+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:04.200446
License: Public Domain

HENDERSON, Justice
(concurring in result).
Although I concur in affirming the lower court, there is language in the majority opinion which is troubling because of past precedent existing in this Court.
In the second sentence of the first full paragraph on page 378 of the majority opinion, it states: “In our view, that language was sufficient for Judge Hertz to have been ‘reasonably satisfied’ that the Brule County conviction was valid.” Such a declaration is setting up the wrong standard and a possible modification of the Burkman rule, which relates back to Elder in 1959. So we have some 30 years of settled law and I do not wish to inferentially unsettle the law. The author begins to deeply involve this Court in a recitation on the impact of convictions and what the State and the defendant must accomplish insofar as proof is concerned. I truly believe this is not vital.
Implicit in Judge Hertz’ determination of a violation by appellant of his probation, was simply that he, Judge Hertz, was reasonably satisfied (that’s the key!) that appellant’s conduct was not as good as required by the terms of the probation. This is the message of Burkman. Since then, as Justice Miller writes, we have had the Martin case in 1985 and the Olson case in 1981. Therefore, a conviction is totally immaterial. When you begin to consider convictions, that is, the general subject of convictions, this begets all manner of considerations, principally constitutional and statutory requirements which must be obeyed and fulfilled or honored. We should avoid these considerations in this decision because all the circuit court judge must do to revoke probation is to be reasonably satis*379fied that the evidence and facts be such that the conduct of the petitioner has not been as good as required by the conditions of the probation.
Findings of fact and conclusions of law entered by the circuit court judge reflect that appellant was to obey conditions of a probation agreement dated November 20, 1986, and that he violated these conditions. This is given under the hand of the circuit judge on June 16, 1987; on the same date, an order was entered by the said circuit judge revoking the suspended imposition of sentence. I further note that Judge Hertz reflected in a conclusion of law that appellant, having violated the conditions of the probation agreement, was unsuitable for probation. Exhibit “A”, inter alia, was a Probation Violation Report depicting appellant as drinking intoxicants, and was in the company of three minor females, aged 17, 15, and 12. Charges, per the report, were filed and appellant entered a plea of guilty to contributing to the delinquency of minors. At the hearing on revocation, the State's Attorney represented to the circuit judge, which stands unrefuted, that appellant was convicted in Charles Mix County for furnishing alcoholic beverages to a minor in 1985.
On November 21, 1986, Judge Hertz entered an Order Suspending Imposition of Sentence, reflecting in number 6 of the conditions, that defendant was to “refrain from the use of alcoholic beverages or nonprescription drugs during the period of probation[.]” The May 19,1987 Probation Violation Report reveals a blood alcohol content of less than .10 of appellant Herrlein when administered a portable breath test, after his vehicle was stopped, but the test definitely reflected that he had been drinking alcohol and in the company of three girls who had not returned home after school hours. All of this was before the circuit judge. Therefore, it is my opinion that Judge Hertz did not use the conviction, per se, to revoke the suspended imposition of sentence.