Jefferson v. State, 2015 Ark. App. 509

Jefferson pled guilty to nonsupport (Class C felony) on June 3, 2013 and received 120 months of supervised probation.
The State filed a petition for revocation on August 1, 2014.
At the revocation hearing, Jefferson owed $100 in fines, $520 in costs, and $20,438.77 restitution; he was to pay $100 monthly.
Probation supervisor Brown testified Jefferson owed $360 in supervision fees and had paid only $130 total, claiming odd jobs.
Dickey observed Jefferson asleep in her garage on May 3, 2014, smelling of alcohol and later reported to police.
Police testimony on June 7, 2014 showed Jefferson with a 0.26 breath test; court found violations related to alcohol use.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether failure to pay fines and restitution inexcusably violated probation	Jefferson failed to pay as required; evidence supports inexcusability and nonpayment.	Jefferson was not working; nonpayment cannot be inexcusably due to lack of funds.	Affirmed; inexcusably noncompliant proven by preponderance.
Whether Jefferson violated the law-abiding-life condition	Conduct showed unlawful behavior breaching good-life requirement.	Nonpayment and questionable conduct did not prove violation beyond doubt; credibility contested.	Affirmed; evidence supports violation of condition.
Whether Jefferson violated the alcohol abstinence condition	Evidence of consumption on May 3 and June 7, 2014 established violation.	Only need one violation proven; other alleged violations were contested.	Affirmed; alcohol use proven by preponderance.
Whether the revocation was proper under the standard of proof for probation revocation	Preponderance standard suffices; even one violation supports revocation.	Standard requires alignment with statutory burden and credibility deference to circuit court.	Affirmed; standard applied correctly and evidence supported revocation.

Sherril v. State, 439 S.W.3d 76 (Ark. App. 2014) (evidence may suffice for revocation despite not proving criminal conviction)
Ingram v. State, 363 S.W.3d 6 (Ark. App. 2009) (credibility weight defers to circuit court in revocation rulings)