State v. Landon T. Urban, 184 A.3d 731

Background

Defendant Landon Urban was charged after a drunken altercation; a jury convicted him of simple assault and deadlocked on aggravated assault; later he pled nolo contendere to aggravated assault under a plea agreement that suspended part of the sentence and imposed two years probation.
The plea agreement included five probation conditions; defendant expressly reserved the right to challenge a condition that completely prohibited buying, possessing, or drinking alcohol (and required alcohol testing).
Defendant stipulated he was not an alcoholic, presented no evidence of alcohol abuse, and objected at sentencing only to the total prohibition on alcohol; the court imposed the no-alcohol condition and other agreed conditions, finding alcohol significantly contributed to the offense and abstinence would aid rehabilitation.
Defendant appealed, arguing the no-alcohol condition is precluded by State v. Albarelli (public-policy protection for alcoholics/abusers) or otherwise unduly restrictive, and sought modification/vacatur of other agreed probation conditions as overbroad.
The Supreme Court reviewed whether Albarelli categorically bars no-alcohol conditions, allocated the burden of proof on alcoholism/abuse, and evaluated whether the trial court abused its discretion in imposing the condition and the other agreed terms.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Albarelli bars a blanket no-alcohol probation condition in all cases	State: Albarelli does not bar such conditions categorically; they may be imposed if reasonably related to rehabilitation and defendant is not an alcoholic/abuser	Urban: Albarelli prohibits imposition of a total prohibition on alcohol because it criminalizes drinking and conflicts with public policy protecting alcoholics/abusers	Court: Albarelli does not forbid no-alcohol conditions in all circumstances; prohibition is improper only when defendant is an alcoholic or alcohol abuser who cannot comply
Who bears burden to prove defendant is alcoholic or alcohol abuser at sentencing	State: Defendant should bear burden to prove inability to comply (alcoholism/abuse)	Urban: Implicitly argued burden should not rest on him given public-policy protection	Court: Burden rests with defendant to present evidence of alcoholism or alcohol abuse when objecting to a no-alcohol condition
Whether trial court abused discretion imposing a total prohibition on alcohol given facts	State: Court had reasonable basis—offense occurred during heavy intoxication, abstinence aids rehabilitation, condition authorized by statute	Urban: Total prohibition is unduly restrictive; a narrower condition would suffice because offense was not strictly an alcohol offense	Court: No abuse of discretion; total prohibition reasonable under circumstances and not unduly harsh where defendant could comply
Whether other probation conditions agreed in plea should be vacated/modified for lack of findings or overbreadth	State: Conditions were part of plea agreement and defendant consented; facial attack fails absent showing no circumstances could justify them	Urban: Conditions unrelated to offense and lacked supporting findings	Court: Conditions upheld; where defendant agreed and did not object at sentencing, court need not make additional findings; attack fails as facial challenge

Key Cases Cited

State v. Albarelli, 159 A.3d 627 (Vt. 2016) (no-alcohol condition invalid when imposed on alcoholic or alcohol abuser who cannot comply; public-policy analysis)
State v. Putnam, 130 A.3d 836 (Vt. 2015) (standard of review for probation conditions; trial court discretion)
State v. Campbell, 120 A.3d 1148 (Vt. 2015) (probation conditions must promote rehabilitation and protect public; reasonableness standard)
State v. Freeman, 70 A.3d 1008 (Vt. 2013) (conditions must not be overly broad or vague)
State v. Moses, 618 A.2d 478 (Vt. 1992) (probation conditions must be reasonably related to sentencing goals)
State v. Savo, 446 A.2d 786 (Vt. 1982) (review asks whether reasonable basis supports probation conditions)