Opinion
No. A-1-CA-37670
01-22-2019
STATE OF NEW MEXICO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CRYSTAL BUSTAMANTE, Defendant-Appellant.
Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General Santa Fe, NM for Appellee Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender William A. O'Connell, Assistant Appellate Defender Santa Fe, NM for Appellant
This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does not include the filing date. APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF LEA COUNTY
Lee A. Kirksey, District Judge Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General
Santa Fe, NM for Appellee Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender
William A. O'Connell, Assistant Appellate Defender
Santa Fe, NM for Appellant
MEMORANDUM OPINION
VANZI, Chief Judge. {1} Defendant appeals from a district court order revoking her probation. We issued a calendar notice proposing to affirm. Defendant has responded with a memorandum in opposition. Not persuaded, we affirm. {2} Defendant continues to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the revocation of her probation. "In a probation revocation proceeding, the [s]tate bears the burden of establishing a probation violation with a reasonable certainty." State v. Leon, 2013-NMCA-011, ¶ 36, 292 P.3d 493. "To establish a violation of a probation agreement, the obligation is on the [s]tate to prove willful conduct on the part of the probationer so as to satisfy the applicable burden of proof." In Re Bruno R., 2003-NMCA-057, ¶ 11, 133 N.M. 566, 66 P.3d 339; State v. Martinez, 1989-NMCA-036, ¶ 8, 108 N.M. 604, 775 P.2d 1321 (explaining that probation should not be revoked where the violation is not willful, in that it resulted from factors beyond a probationer's control). {3} Here, the State alleged that Defendant violated numerous conditions of probation. [RP 230-31] The State's petition summarized facts in support of these violations. [RP 234] Defendant conceded that she did not appear at several appointments with her probation officer. [MIO 1] However, she claimed that her domestic partner initially prevented her from going to some of the appointments, and that she thereafter did not go because she claimed that the probation officer treated her unfairly. [MIO 2-3] The district court, sitting as fact-finder, was free to reject Defendant's veracity or that these violations were not wilful. See State v. Sutphin, 1988-NMSC-031, ¶ 21, 107 N.M. 126, 753 P.2d 1314 (noting that the fact-finder is free to reject a defendant's version of events). {4} For the reasons set forth above, we affirm.
{5} IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/ _________
LINDA M. VANZI, Chief Judge
WE CONCUR:
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JULIE J. VARGAS, Judge /s/ _________
JENNIFER L. ATTREP, Judge