McClain v. State, 2016 Ark. App. 205

James McClain was convicted in 2011 of felony nonsupport and placed on 120 months supervised probation.
In 2013 he pled guilty to second-degree battery and to a petition to revoke the 2011 probation; court imposed 120 months suspended imposition for nonsupport and 72 months probation for battery, both with a condition of no new law violations.
In March 2015 the State petitioned to revoke both the suspended sentence and probation, alleging McClain failed to appear for a July 7, 2014 trial in Washington County and had convictions in Lane County, Oregon (one felony and three misdemeanors).
At the May 6, 2015 revocation hearing the State introduced exhibits showing the failure to appear and the Oregon convictions; McClain testified he was hospitalized in Springdale on July 7 and had appealed the Oregon convictions but produced no corroborating evidence.
The trial court found by a preponderance of the evidence that McClain violated his probation and suspended sentence by committing new offenses and failing to appear, revoked both, and imposed concurrent terms of ten years (nonsupport) and six years (battery) in the Arkansas Department of Correction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether there was sufficient evidence to revoke McClain’s probation and suspended sentence	State: Exhibits and testimony proved McClain committed new offenses and failed to appear, satisfying preponderance standard	McClain: He had a medical excuse—was hospitalized on the date of the required court appearance; Oregon convictions were pending appeal	Court affirmed revocation; alternative basis (Oregon convictions) independently supported revocation; even on FTA issue, court credited State and found McClain’s unsupported testimony insufficient

Green v. State, 461 S.W.3d 731 (Ark. App. 2015) (State must prove probation violation by a preponderance; credibility and weight are for the trial court; evidence insufficient for criminal conviction may suffice for revocation)