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People v. Acosta

Michigan Court of Appeals
Nov 14, 1975
65 Mich. App. 640 (Mich. Ct. App. 1975)

Opinion

Docket No. 21633.

Decided November 14, 1975.

Appeal from Recorder's Court of Detroit, James Del Rio, J. Submitted October 9, 1975, at Detroit. (Docket No. 21633.) Decided November 14, 1975.

Julian F. Acosta was convicted, on his plea of guilty, of unlawfully taking and using a motor vehicle, and was placed on probation. From an order revoking probation and imposing sentence, defendant appeals. Order set aside and the case remanded for rehearing.

Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Robert A. Derengoski, Solicitor General, William L. Cahalan, Prosecuting Attorney, Patricia J. Boyle, Principal Attorney Research, Training and Appeals, and Luvenia D. Dockett, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for the people.

Elliard, Crenshaw Strong, for defendant.

Before: R.M. MAHER, P.J., and BRONSON and T.M. BURNS, JJ.


On April 19, 1973, defendant pled guilty to unlawfully taking and using a motor vehicle, MCLA 750.414; MSA 28.646. He was sentenced to a term of two years probation. On September 19, 1974, defendant was found guilty of violating probation and was sentenced to a term of one year and four months to two years. Defendant appeals as of right.

While defendant raises several issues on appeal, we find one to be dispositive. The notice of probation violation charged defendant with having been present in an automobile containing a shotgun and ammunition. The basis of the trial court's revocation order, however, was defendant's anti-social conduct. Assuming arguendo that defendant was properly notified of the initial charge, defendant had no notice that he was expected to meet a charge of anti-social behavior. While the trial court's finding may be viewed as a mere characterization of the conduct contained in the charge, we have previously held that a probationer must have notice of the specific violation charged and the revocation hearing is to be restricted thereto. People v Elbert, 21 Mich. App. 677; 176 N.W.2d 467 (1970), People v Davenport, 7 Mich. App. 613; 152 N.W.2d 553 (1967).

In the instant case, the trial court exceeded the proper scope of the hearing. Defendant's conviction therefore, must be reversed.

The order revoking defendant's probation is set aside, the sentence vacated, and the defendant is remanded to the custody of recorder's court without prejudice on the part of the court to conduct a hearing after defendant is given a written copy of the probation violation charges that he is required to meet.


Summaries of

People v. Acosta

Michigan Court of Appeals
Nov 14, 1975
65 Mich. App. 640 (Mich. Ct. App. 1975)
Case details for

People v. Acosta

Case Details

Full title:PEOPLE v ACOSTA

Court:Michigan Court of Appeals

Date published: Nov 14, 1975

Citations

65 Mich. App. 640 (Mich. Ct. App. 1975)
237 N.W.2d 601

Citing Cases

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Many defendants have been successful in getting their probation revocations reversed on appeal when it is…

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See MCLA 771.4; MSA 28.1134. See, also, People v Acosta, 65 Mich. App. 640, 641; 237 N.W.2d 601 (1975), where…