Appeal
from the District Court of Sublette County The Honorable
Marvin L. Tyler, Judge.
Representing Appellant: Diane Lozano, State Public Defender;
Kirk A. Morgan, Chief Appellate Counsel; David E. Westling,
Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel. Argument by Mr. Westling.
Representing Appellee: Peter K. Michael, Wyoming Attorney
General; Christyne M. Martens, Deputy Attorney General.
Argument by Ms. Martens.
Before
DAVIS, C.J., and FOX, KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, and GRAY, JJ.
KAUTZ,
JUSTICE.
[¶1]
Caleb Dwight Bazzle appeals from the district court's
order revoking his probation and imposing the original
suspended sentence. We affirm.
ISSUES
[¶2]
Mr. Bazzle presents the following issue on appeal:
To revoke probation, the State must prove that the
probationer willfully violated the conditions of probation.
During the adjudicatory stage of proceedings, after
concluding that Mr. Bazzle had failed to prove that he had
complied with the conditions of his probation and finding
that his alleged violations were willful, the district court
revoked his probation. Did the court err in its conclusions[]
and were its findings supported by the evidence?
The
State raises an additional issue:
A defendant's waiver of his appellate rights will be
enforced unless the appellate issue is outside the scope of
the waiver, the waiver was not knowing and voluntary, and
enforcing the waiver would result in a miscarriage of
justice. In his plea agreement, Bazzle agreed not to file
"any . . . appeals." Bazzle does not address his
waiver. Should this Court enforce the waiver and refuse to
consider the issue he raises?
FACTS
[¶3]
On December 15, 2015, the State charged Mr. Bazzle with five
drug-related crimes- possession of marijuana (third offense);
endangering children; and three counts of delivery of a
controlled substance (buprenorphine). On February 2, 2016,
the State and Mr. Bazzle entered into a plea agreement,
memorialized in a document entitled "Statement of
Agreement." Mr. Bazzle agreed to plead guilty to the
first count-possession of marijuana (third offense), and the
State agreed to dismiss the remaining charges. They jointly
recommended to the district court that Mr. Bazzle receive a
sentence of incarceration for three to five years, to be
suspended in favor of five years of supervised probation.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Bazzle was required to
"enroll in, and successfully complete, the Sublette
County Treatment Court Program." Mr. Bazzle also agreed
"not to file any post guilty plea/post-conviction
motions, requests for sentence reduction, appeals or
post-conviction relief petitions."
[¶4]
The district court held a change of plea and sentencing
hearing on June 27, 2016. The prosecutor outlined the terms
of the plea agreement, specifically mentioning the
requirement that Mr. Bazzle enroll in and successfully
complete the Treatment Court Program and that he was waiving
his right to appeal. The district court addressed Mr. Bazzle,
as follows:
COURT: You would be required under this agreement to enroll
in and successfully complete the Sublette County Treatment
Court Program as a condition. Do you have any questions about
that? . . . .
DEFENDANT: I do not, [Y]our Honor.
COURT: Implicit in that requirement is that you would enroll
in and successfully complete in-patient treatment for
substances, alcohol or both as recommended in the Presentence
Investigation Report in order to get you to a level that the
Sublette County Treatment Court Program would accept you. Do
you have any questions about the treatment requirement that
is implied under this Sublette County Treatment Court Program
requirement?
DEFENDANT: I do not, [Y]our Honor.
[¶5]
The district court accepted the plea agreement and Mr.
Bazzle's guilty plea, imposed the recommended three to
five year sentence, suspended the sentence, and placed him on
supervised probation for five years. The Court Probation
Terms and Conditions Order, filed June 28, 2016, stated in
relevant part:
32) Defendant shall not own, transport, consume, inhale,
ingest, use, possess, purchase, manufacture, sell, bargain,
give away, receive, be under the influence of, handle, or
engage in any other act that a person may be capable of doing
regarding or in connection with, any controlled substances,
illicit substances, toxic substances, medications . . . or
paraphernalia associated with such, unless prescribed by a
licensed practitioner. In the event that a substance or
medication has been prescribed to Defendant, Defendant shall
strictly follow the terms of [the] prescription, including,
but not limited to, taking only the dosage(s) and amount(s)
prescribed strictly within the time(s) prescribed[.]
(Defendant shall not over-medicate, under-medicate, take more
frequently, or less frequently than strictly prescribed).
37) Defendant shall strictly follow and successfully complete
. . . any and all recommendations made in the Addiction
Severity Index (ASI/ASAM)[.]
39) As directed by his Agent, Defendant shall enroll in and
Defendant shall thereafter successfully complete . . . an
ASAM Level III.5 clinically managed high intensity
residential treatment program or comparable treatment program
approved by the probation agent, and . . . attend any and all
recommended after-care, relapse prevention, and/or recovery
maintenance program(s). . . .
40) As directed by his Agent, Defendant shall apply for the
Sublette County Treatment Court Program, or comparable
treatment court program approved by the probation agent, and
if accepted . . . successfully complete said program.
Defendant shall abide by any and all policies, rules,
regulations, directives, or orders of the Treatment Court
Program and strictly follow any and all directives of the
Treatment Court team members.
[¶6]
After he began serving his probation, Mr. Bazzle started
using a prescription drug, buprenorphine, without telling his
probation agent. Buprenorphine is a synthetic opioid that is
used to treat opioid dependence. In August 2016, probation
agent, Jeannie Whinnery, learned that Mr. Bazzle was using
buprenorphine when he tested positive for the drug. Ms.
Whinnery informed him that he could not participate in the
Treatment Court Program if he was taking buprenorphine.
[¶7]
Mr. Bazzle began residential drug treatment in November 2016
and was discharged, at his request, with "maximum
benefits" on January 12, 2017. While in treatment, Jed
Shay, M.D. switched Mr. Bazzle's medication to Suboxone,
another synthetic opioid that contains buprenorphine and is
used to treat opioid dependence. www. suboxone.com.
[¶8]
On January 26, 2017, Kathy Anderson, the coordinator of the
Sublette County Treatment Court, sent Mr. Bazzle a letter
informing him that he would not be allowed to "commence
participation in the Treatment Court until [he]
titrate[d][1] off all opioid-type prescriptions,
including but not limited to Buprenorphine, S[u]boxone, or
any similar synthetic opioid." The letter acknowledged
that Mr. Bazzle had provided the Treatment Court with a
prescription from Dr. Shay, which stated that tapering off
Suboxone should take six months. Ms. Anderson instructed Mr.
Bazzle to provide a more detailed titration plan. She also
stated that his acceptance in the Treatment Court Program
would "remain open until July 12, 2017 (six (6) months
from the date of the titration prescription sheet by Dr.
Shay)," but that if he was still using any opioid or
synthetic opioid prescription drug at that time, his
"acceptance in the Treatment Court program [would] be
revoked and [he would] be prohibited from participating in
the program."
[¶9]
On July 12, 2017, Ms. Anderson informed Ms. Whinnery that Mr.
Bazzle would not be allowed to participate in the Treatment
Court Program because he had not titrated off Suboxone. A few
days later, the State filed a petition to revoke Mr.
Bazzle's probation. The State alleged that Mr. Bazzle had
violated the terms of his probation which required him to
successfully complete residential drug treatment and the
Treatment Court Program.
[¶10]
Mr. Bazzle denied the State's allegations and filed a
memorandum asserting that he had not willfully violated his
probation. He argued that his dismissal from residential
treatment was not willful, as evidenced by the fact he was
awarded "maximum benefits." He also claimed that he
had not willfully violated the probation condition that
required him to complete the Sublette County Treatment Court
Program. While Mr. Bazzle acknowledged he was ...