Pearson v. State

Appellant Eliot Lewis Pearson appeals an order revoking probation and sentencing him to concurrent sentences totaling fifteen years. We reverse because immediately after the evidentiary portion of the hearing, the trial court announced its ruling that the violations were supported by the evidence without allowing closing argument. When defense counsel requested that she be allowed to make a closing argument, the trial judge refused, stating that he could not “imagine anything that [defense counsel] would say that would change [the] ruling.” We note that the most serious charge was the offense…