State of West Virginia v. Michael Faulkner, 22-577

Michael Faulkner was convicted in 2018 of obtaining money, goods, or services by false pretenses.
He was sentenced to five years of probation, with orders to pay restitution and complete community service.
In 2022, the Circuit Court of Webster County revoked his probation after Faulkner admitted to several violations, including failing to complete substance abuse treatment, not reporting to his probation officer, and failing to pay restitution.
Upon revocation, the court imposed a one-to-ten-year sentence pursuant to W. Va. Code § 61-3-24.
Faulkner appealed the revocation, raising claims concerning venue, jurisdiction, and the sufficiency of evidence for the original conviction.
The Supreme Court determined that the appeal presented no substantial questions of law or prejudicial error and summarily affirmed.

Issue	Faulkner's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Venue	The wrong county heard the case; venue should have been Nicholas County.	Venue proper in Webster; claims are collateral and should not be raised in probation revocation.	Rejected; probation revocation not the proper forum to contest underlying conviction venue.
Jurisdiction	Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction due to improper venue.	Circuit Court had jurisdiction; question already resolved in prior related appeal.	Rejected; arguments not addressed because collateral to current proceeding.
Sufficiency of Evidence	Elements of false pretenses were not met; lacked intent to defraud.	Faulkner cannot challenge underlying conviction at probation revocation.	Rejected; not proper to collaterally attack conviction in this appeal.
Procedural Error	Plain error in revoking probation under these circumstances.	No plain or prejudicial error in circuit court’s decision; all procedures were proper.	No error found; order affirmed.

State v. Duke, 200 W. Va. 356, 489 S.E.2d 738 (1997) (establishes appellate standard of review for probation revocation)
Ross v. Ross, 187 W. Va. 68, 415 S.E.2d 614 (1992) (appellant bears burden to produce record showing error)
State v. Honaker, 193 W. Va. 51, 454 S.E.2d 96 (1994) (missing appellate record is taken as non-existent facts)
State v. Benny W., 242 W. Va. 618, 837 S.E.2d 679 (2019) (attorney statements in briefs are not evidence)