Opinion
No. 20000358-CA.
September 28, 2000. (Not For Official Publication)
Appeal from the Third District, Salt Lake Department, The Honorable Sandra N. Peuler.
Bryan Nelson Hansard, Draper, Appellant Pro Se.
Before Judges JACKSON, BILLINGS, and ORME.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
The trial court determined that Hansard's petition for extraordinary relief and related documents were frivolous because "[t]here is no short, plain and concise statement of the petitioner's claims, and the Court is not able to determine the claims the petitioner is asserting." We agree that Hansard's claims are frivolous, but for a different reason than articulated by the trial court. See State v. Short, 924 P.2d 354, 357 (Utah 1996) (allowing appellate court to affirm lower court on alternative grounds).
Hansard contests the authority of the Board of Pardons to issue a warrant for a parole violation. However, the Board has statutory authority to do just that:
Any member of the board [of pardons] may issue a warrant based upon a certified warrant request to a peace officer or other persons authorized to arrest, detain, and return to actual custody a parolee, and may upon arrest or otherwise direct the Department of Corrections to determine if there is probable cause to believe that the parolee has violated the conditions of his parole.
Utah Code Ann. § 77-27-11(3) (1999). Relying upon the "Warrant Request Parole Violation Report," alleging that Hansard had violated several conditions of his parole including, but not limited to, absconding, committing vehicle theft, and failing to respond to a police officer, the Board of Pardons properly issued a warrant for Hansard's arrest.
Moreover, once a parole violation has been found, as it was here, the Board has the authority to order that Hansard be returned to prison.
The trial court's order is affirmed.
NORMAN H. JACKSON, Associate Presiding Judge, JUDITH M. BILLINGS, Judge, and GREGORY K. ORME, Judge.