51 Cal.App.5th 267
Cal. Ct. App.2020Background
- In March–April 2018 Castellanos pleaded no contest to transporting a controlled substance and received three years’ probation after signing a plea form that contained a broad, written appellate-waiver.
- The court imposed an electronic-search probation condition requiring surrender of any electronic device, disclosure of all passwords to social-media accounts/applications, and warrantless searches by probation officers or peace officers at any time.
- Defense counsel objected at sentencing as overbroad; the trial court found the condition related to the offense (three cellphones were found in the car) and overruled the objection.
- Castellanos appealed and obtained a certificate of probable cause; while the appeal was pending the California Supreme Court decided In re Ricardo P., which invalidated a similar electronics-search condition and emphasized proportionality under People v. Lent.
- The Court of Appeal held (1) Castellanos’s general appellate waiver did not bar this appeal because the claim relied on a post‑waiver change in the law, and (2) on the merits the electronics-search condition was not overbroad or unconstitutionally vague under Lent as applied in Ricardo P.; a concurring/dissent would have enforced the waiver and dismissed the appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (People) | Defendant's Argument (Castellanos) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the written general appellate waiver bars this appeal | Waiver was broad and unqualified; it covers challenges to sentencing/probation and thus the appeal must be dismissed | Waiver was not knowing and intelligent as to claims based on future changes in law (Ricardo P. came after the plea), so the waiver does not bar this appeal | Waiver invalid as to this claim because the change in law occurred after the plea; appeal may proceed |
| Whether the electronics-search probation condition is unconstitutionally overbroad or vague under Lent and Ricardo P. | Condition was reasonably related to the offense and future criminality (phones were present and drug distribution often involves phones); language sufficiently specific | Condition is overbroad and vague under Ricardo P. because it authorizes broad, warrantless, intrusive searches without proportionality limits | Condition is not overbroad and not unconstitutionally vague on this record; affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- In re Ricardo P., 7 Cal.5th 1113 (Cal. 2019) (held a materially identical electronic-device search condition invalid under Lent’s proportionality requirement)
- People v. Lent, 15 Cal.3d 481 (Cal. 1975) (sets three‑prong test for validity of probation conditions)
- People v. Panizzon, 13 Cal.4th 68 (Cal. 1996) (standards for knowing, intelligent, voluntary appellate waivers)
- People v. Wright, 31 Cal.App.5th 749 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) (waiver did not bar appeal where claim depended on post‑plea legal change)
- People v. Becerra, 32 Cal.App.5th 178 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) (discusses scope of appellate waivers and requirement of certificate of probable cause)
- People v. Appleton, 245 Cal.App.4th 717 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016) (upheld an electronics-search condition where record showed concrete nexus to criminal conduct)