Background
Jenna Abnee resolved three Bourbon County criminal cases through plea agreements resulting in an aggregate ten-year prison sentence, probated for five years. One condition of probation required her to complete the Nicholas County Drug Court Program. After she was terminated from that program, a supervision report alleged that she had violated probation by failing to comply with substance-abuse treatment.
At the revocation hearing, Abnee stipulated that her discharge from drug court violated a condition of probation. The Bourbon Circuit Court revoked probation in all three cases, relying on the alleged violation and her stipulation. Neither its oral ruling nor its written orders found that the violation created a significant risk to prior victims or the community or that Abnee could not be appropriately managed in the community.
The Court’s Holding
The Kentucky Court of Appeals vacated the three revocation orders and remanded for further proceedings. Under KRS 439.3106(1), a court may revoke probation only after finding both that the violation presents a significant risk to prior victims or the community and that the probationer cannot be appropriately managed in the community. Those findings may be oral or written, but they must appear in the record and be supported by evidence.
Although Abnee did not preserve the issue below, the Court held that the complete absence of the required findings violated due process and constituted palpable error. It rejected the Commonwealth’s invited-error argument: defense counsel’s statement that revocation appeared to be the likely outcome did not amount to a knowing waiver or stipulation to the statutory findings, and counsel’s arguments were not evidence. Abnee stipulated only to the probation violation, not to dangerousness or inability to be managed in the community.
Key Takeaways
- Proof or admission of a probation violation alone does not authorize revocation under KRS 439.3106(1).
- The trial court must expressly find that the probationer poses a significant risk to prior victims or the community and cannot be appropriately managed in the community.
- Defense counsel’s prediction that revocation is likely does not waive the probationer’s right to the required findings or supply evidence supporting them.
Why It Matters
The opinion reinforces that Kentucky’s statutory findings are mandatory due-process protections, not formalities that an appellate court may infer from the record. Even an admitted violation does not eliminate the trial court’s duty to assess risk and the feasibility of community management before ordering incarceration.
On remand, the Bourbon Circuit Court must make findings supported by the record and may conduct a new hearing if necessary. The Court of Appeals did not direct a particular revocation outcome or decide Abnee’s separate argument concerning the aggregate sentencing cap.