OPINION
Defendant-Appellant Marsha Pitman (Pitman) appeals the revocation of her probation.
We affirm.
Pitman raises five issues which we consolidate and restate as:
1. Whether there was sufficient evidence to support the revocation of Pit-man’s probation.
2. Whether the trial court erred by admitting into evidence certified documents from a court file.
3. Whether Pitman’s constitutional right against self-incrimination was violated by the State’s questions regarding her subsequent arrest.
In 1999, Pitman pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated and was placed on probation. The terms of Pit-man’s probation stated that she was not to be charged with any new criminal offense based upon probable cause and that she was not to possess or consume alcohol. During Pitman’s probationary period, she was arrested for battery and was intoxicated at the time of her arrest. The State then filed a petition to revoke her probation in the instant case. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked Pitman’s probation, and this appeal ensued.
Pitman first contends that the evidence presented by the State was insufficient to sustain the revocation of her probation. A probation revocation hearing is in the nature of a civil proceeding. As such, the alleged violation need be proven only by a preponderance of the evidence.
Wilson v. State,
Ind. Evidence Rule 101(c)(2) provides that the Indiana Rules of Evidence do not apply in probation proceedings. Courts of this state follow the general rule that, with regard to probation proceedings, they may consider any relevant evidence bearing some substantial indicia of reliability, including reliable hearsay.
Cox v. State,
In her brief, Pitman cites
Gleason v. State,
Next, Pitman asserts that the trial court erred by admitting into evidence the certified copies of documents from the court file regarding her new charge. Specifically, she claims that the documents were hearsay and that admission of these documents violated her constitutional right to confront and cross-examine witnesses.
As we stated above, the rules of evidence do not apply in probation proceedings. Evid.R. 101(c)(2). Therefore, the court documents, some of which might be considered hearsay in another proceeding, were properly admitted as relevant evidence of Pitman’s violation of her probation in this proceeding. However, our discussion does not end here.
Pitman further argues that the admission of these documents violates her constitutional right to confront and cross-examine witnesses because she could not cross-examine the documents or, more appropriately, the documents’ author. The crux of Pitman’s argument is that the State introduced, and the court admitted, the police report regarding the new charge of battery, but the State did not call the investigating officer as a witness. The police report indicated that Pitman appeared intoxicated at the time of the occurrence and that Pitman admitted to drinking five or six beers. Pitman claims that her constitutional right was impeded because she was unable to cross-examine the police officer in an effort to refute this information.
As discussed previously, all of the documents presented by the State were properly admitted at Pitman’s revocation hearing based upon the inapplicability of the rules of evidence in probation proceedings as set forth in Evid.R. 101(c)(2). We further note for our discussion that the court docket and the charging information are items of public record which, pursuant to Ind. Evidence Rule 803(8), would be admissible as exceptions to the hearsay rule at a proceeding where the rules of evidence are applicable. The remaining document, the police report, would not generally be admissible at proceedings other than those where the rules of evidence are not applicable.
See
Evid.R. 101(c)(2) and Evid.R. 803(8) (stating that police reports are specifically excluded from the hearsay exception regarding public records). Therefore, assuming,
Finally, Pitman alleges that her constitutional right against self-incrimination was violated by the State’s questions regarding her subsequent arrest. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that “no person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” U.S. CONST, amend. V. It has long been held that the privilege against self-incrimination applies not only to a defendant in a criminal trial but also applies to parties in any other proceeding, civil or criminal, formal or informal, where the answers might incriminate them in future criminal proceedings.
State v. Cass,
In the present case, following the examination of Pitman as to her name, address, date of birth, social security number and conviction in the case at bar (i.e., basic identifying information), Pitman was asked these questions by the State:
Q: Uh, drawing your attention to the early morning hours of February 9th, 2000, uh, I believe you were arrested by a law enforcement agency in Grant County, is that correct?
A: Yes, sir.
... «,• ... v
Q: Do you recall the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office bringing a criminal charge against you in Grant County?
A: Yes.
Q: And I believe that the Grant Superior Courtroom III found probable cause on the offense of Battery, as a Class A Misdemeanor on February 14, 2000, is that your understanding?
A: Yes, sir.
(R. 116). The trial court ordered Pitman to answer these questions over her counsel’s objections based upon her Fifth Amendment right. Pitman is correct that these questions elicit answers beyond general identifying information. However, Pitman was in no way incriminating her
Based upon the foregoing, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence to support the revocation of Pitman’s probation, that the trial court properly admitted certified copies of documents into evidence and did so without violating Pitman’s constitutional right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and that Pitman’s constitutional right against self-incrimination was not violated by the State’s questioning.
Affirmed.
