State v. Millner
| Decision Date | 22 September 1954 |
| Docket Number | No. 2,2 |
| Citation | 83 S.E.2d 546,240 N.C. 602 |
| Parties | STATE, v. Floyd MILLNER. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Atty. Gen. Harry McMullan, Asst. Atty. Gen. Ralph Moody, and Gerald F. White, of Staff, Raleigh, for the State.
Brown, Scurry & McMichael, Reidsville, and Price & Osborne, Leaksville, for defendant appellant.
The validity of the order of Clarkson, J., entered at the January Term, suspending or staying execution of the sentence of imprisonment imposed by him on condition that defendant 'be of good behavior and violate none of the laws of the State during the period of suspension,' is not challenged on this appeal. State v. Miller, 225 N.C. 213, 34 S.E.2d 143; State v. Jackson, 226 N.C. 66, 36 S.E.2d 706.
The term 'good behavior' as used in the order means in obedience to and conformity with the laws of the State: the demeanor of a law-abiding citizen. State v. Johnson, 169 N.C. 311, 84 S.E. 767; State v. Everitt, 164 N.C. 399, 79 S.E. 274, 47 L.R.A., N.S., 848; State v. Pelley, 221 N.C. 487, 20 S.E.2d 850. Good behavior, by correct interpretation, means conduct that is authorized by law. State v. Hardin, 183 N.C. 815, 112 S.E. 593.
Behavior such as will warrant a finding that a defendant has breached the condition of suspension on good behavior must be conduct which constitutes a violation of some criminal law of the State. State v. Hardin, supra.
The discretionary authority of the trial judge to determine whether a suspended sentence shall be activated does not mean that he can invoke the sentence and direct that capias and commitment issue without a finding, based on competent evidence, that the defendant in fact has been guilty of conduct which constitutes a violation of some criminal law. The breach of condition must be properly established by pertinent testimony that the conditions have been broken. State v. Hardin, supra. There must be substantial evidence of sufficient probative force to generate in the minds of reasonable men the conclusion that defendant has in fact breached the condition in question. In the absence of such proof, the defendant is entitled to his discharge as a matter of right and not of discretion.
We are constrained to hold that the evidence contained in this record, when considered in the light of these principles of law, is insufficient to sustain the findings or conclusions made by the court below.
It is true that the defendant has no occupation to the knowledge of the officers. But this alone is not sufficient to support a finding that defendant is a vagrant, especially...
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Wheeler v. Goodman
...vagrant, as prescribed by one of the classifications of the statute, must be present in order to convict of vagrancy. State v. Millner, 240 N.C. 602, 83 S.E.2d 546 (1954). Neither holding is sufficient to cure the unconstitutional vagueness and overbreath of the statute, since neither narro......
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State v. Coffey
...in the minds of reasonable men the conclusion that defendant has in fact breached the condition in question.' State v. Millner, 240 N.C. 602, 605, 83 S.E.2d 546, 548. In our opinion, the evidence, when considered in the light of the foregoing rules of law, is sufficient to justify the court......
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State v. Johnson
...N.C. 112, 113–14, 145 S.E.2d 327, 329 (1965). The State must present substantial evidence of each probation violation. State v. Millner, 240 N.C. 602, 605, 83 S.E.2d 546, 548 (1954). "All that is required is that the evidence be such as to reasonably satisfy the judge in the exercise of his......
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State v. Royal
...112, 113, 145 S.E.2d 327, 329 (1965). The State must present substantial evidence of each probation violation. State v. Millner,240 N.C. 602, 605, 83 S.E.2d 546, 548 (1954).Generally, a defendant's probation revocation cannot be based solely on a pendingcriminal charge. A trial court's revo......