Bryant v. Texas (Original)
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In its petition for discretionary review, the State challenged the court of appeals's judgment in favor of Appellant Robert Bryant. The court of appeals held that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking appellant's deferred-adjudication community supervision for failure to pay restitution and that appellant preserved this issue for appeal. The court of appeals applied former Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 42.037(h), which required that, "[i]n determining whether to revoke probation," (1) a trial court "shall" consider five factors pertaining to a defendant's financial circumstances. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that the court of appeals properly determined that appellant preserved his challenge and that the abuse-of-discretion standard of review applied to the trial court's decision to revoke community supervision, including its consideration of the defendant's financial circumstances. However, the Court concluded that by revoking appellant's deferred adjudication and placing appellant on regular community supervision with the continued opportunity to fulfill the restitution obligation, the trial court did not abuse its discretion. Because the court of appeals erred by reversing the trial court's decision, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals and reinstated the trial court's judgment.
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