Richard Douglas McCutcheon v. the State of Texas
05-20-00701-CR
| Tex. App. | Oct 20, 2021Background
- McCutcheon pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography (third-degree felony) under a plea agreement; the court deferred adjudication and placed him on community supervision.
- The State later filed a motion to adjudicate guilt and revoke supervision based on seven alleged violations of conditions (c), (j), (l), (u), (w), (x), and (aa).
- McCutcheon pleaded true and made a judicial confession to violating all seven conditions.
- The trial court found all violations true, adjudicated guilt, and sentenced McCutcheon to eight years' imprisonment.
- On appeal McCutcheon raised five issues challenging revocation for specific violations (avoid certain persons; pay supervision fees; complete community service; pay $5/month sex-offender fee; comply with treatment-provider directives).
- The court affirmed, noting a plea of true alone can support revocation and that the appellant failed to successfully challenge all violations that supported revocation.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (McCutcheon) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revocation for associating with disreputable/harmful persons (condition c) | Plea of true and judicial confession establish violation; single violation suffices for revocation | Trial court abused discretion in revoking for this condition | Affirmed — plea of true supports revocation; appellant did not successfully challenge all findings |
| Failure to pay supervision fees as directed (condition j) | Judicial confession admits nonpayment; supports revocation | Revocation was an abuse of discretion for fee nonpayment | Affirmed — plea of true sufficient; revocation upheld |
| Failure to complete community service hours (condition l) | Confession establishes failure to complete community service; supports revocation | Revocation excessive or unsupported by evidence | Affirmed — plea/judicial confession supports revocation |
| Failure to pay $5/month sex-offender fee (condition w) | Plea admits nonpayment to sex-offender fund; supports revocation | Challenged as improper or insufficient to revoke | Affirmed — plea supports revocation; at least one valid unchallenged violation exists |
| Failure to comply with treatment-provider directives (conditions x and aa) | Confession admits noncompliance with treatment and pornography restrictions; supports revocation | Revocation for treatment noncompliance was abuse of discretion | Affirmed — plea of true and failure to challenge all violations require affirmance |
Key Cases Cited
- Rickels v. State, 202 S.W.3d 759 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (standard of review for revocation is abuse of discretion)
- Garcia v. State, 387 S.W.3d 20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (single probation violation is sufficient to support revocation)
- Cole v. State, 578 S.W.2d 127 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979) (a plea of true alone can support revocation)
- Silber v. State, 371 S.W.3d 605 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2012) (defendant must successfully challenge all findings supporting revocation to prevail on appeal)
- Olabode v. State, 575 S.W.3d 878 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2019) (failure to challenge all violations that support revocation requires affirmance)