Ex Parte State of Alabama. (In Re Shunta Vile Sams v. State of Alabama).

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals and remanded for entry of a judgment affirming the circuit court’s revocation of Shunta Vile Sams’s probation, holding that the trial court did not exceed its discretion because the record contained both reliable hearsay and non‑hearsay evidence of a new offense. The Court affirmed that appellate review of probation‑revocation decisions is limited to abuse of discretion. Justice Cobb dissented, arguing the majority’s analysis was insufficient and that the age of the child could have been easily proven.