State v. Tucker
State v. Tucker
Opinion of the Court
Angela Tucker appeals the district court's decision to revoke her probation and send her to prison after she violated her probation. She argues that the court abused its discretion by not giving her another chance on probation.
Traditionally the district court has had broad discretion in deciding whether to revoke probation and impose the underlying prison sentence when a defendant violates probation. See State v. Skolaut ,
That exception applied in Tucker's case. While she was on probation for several prior offenses (including felony theft and identity theft), Tucker admitted committing the new crimes of possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while suspended, and having expired vehicle tags.
Once the defendant commits a new crime while on probation, then, the district court may revoke the probation and order that the defendant serve the prison sentence. A court abuses its discretion only when its decision is based on a factual or legal error or when no reasonable person would agree with the decision. State v. McCullough ,
Tucker hasn't suggested a factual or legal error, and we conclude that a reasonable person could agree with the district court's decision. As the district court noted, Tucker tested positive for cocaine, committed new crimes, failed to report, and failed to provide documentation of her disability to her probation officer. Those facts provided a reasonable basis for the district court's decision.
On Tucker's motion, we accepted this appeal for summary disposition under K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6820(g) and (h) and Supreme Court Rule 7.041A (2018 Kan. S. Ct. R. 47). We have reviewed the record available to the district court, and we find no error in its decision to revoke Tucker's probation.
Tucker also claims the district court violated her rights under Apprendi v. New Jersey ,
Affirmed in part and dismissed in part.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.