THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ALEJANDRO OLGUIN, Defendant and Appellant.
No. S149303
Supreme Court of California
Dec. 29, 2008.
375 | 376 | 377 | 378 | 379 | 380 | 381 | 382 | 383 | 384 | 385 | 386 | 387 | 388 | 389
John L. Staley, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Robert R. Anderson and Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Steven T. Oetting, Barry Carlton and Stephanie H. Chow, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
GEORGE, C. J.—At issue in this case is a condition of probation requiring defendant to notify his probation officer of the presence of any pets at defendant‘s place of residence. Defendant contends the challenged condition is not reasonably related to future criminality, limits his fundamental rights, and is unconstitutionally overbroad. We disagree. Probation officers are charged with supervising probationers’ compliance with the specific terms of their probation to ensure the safety of the public and the rehabilitation of probationers. Pets residing with probationers have the potential to distract, impede, and endanger probation officers in the exercise of their supervisory duties. By mandating that probation officers be kept informed of the presence of such pets, this notification condition facilitates the effective supervision of probationers and, as such, is reasonably related to deterring future criminality. Defendant‘s other arguments are without merit, because no fundamental or constitutional rights are implicated by the challenged term of probation. We therefore conclude that this notification condition is valid. The Court of Appeal‘s decision, which reached the same conclusion, is affirmed.
I.
Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level in excess of 0.08 percent by weight (
The trial court denied this request, аnd defendant appealed. In a split decision, the Court of Appeal majority concluded that his challenge to the condition requiring notification of the presence of pets was without merit and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling defendant‘s objections to this term of probation; the concurring and dissenting justice disagreed. We granted defendant‘s petition for review in order to resolve the conflict among the appellate decisions addressing this issue.
“Probation is generally reserved for convicted criminals whose conditional release into society poses minimal risk to public safety and promotes rehаbilitation. [Citations.] The sentencing court has broad discretion to determine whether an eligible defendant is suitable for probation and, if so, under what conditions. [Citations.] The primary goal of probation is to ensure ‘[t]he safety of the public . . . through the enforcement of court-ordered conditions of probation.’ (
We review conditions of probation for abuse of discretion. (Carbajal, supra, 10 Cal.4th at 1121; People v. Welch (1993) 5 Cal.4th 228, 233.) Generally, “[a] condition of probation will not be held invalid unless it ‘(1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires or forbids conduct which is not reasonably related to future criminality . . . .’ [Citation.]” (Lent, supra, 15 Cal.3d at p. 486.) This test is conjunctive—all three prongs must be satisfied before a reviewing court will invalidate a probation term. (Id. at p. 486, fn. 1; see also People v. Balestra (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 57, 68–69 (Balestra).) As such,
The condition of probation at issue in the present case requires defendant to “[k]eep the probation officer informed of place of residence, cohabitants and pets, and give written notice to the probation officer twenty-four (24) hours prior to any changes.” (Italics added.) It is undisputed that the condition requiring notification of the presence of pets has no relationship to driving under the influence of alcohol, the crime of which defendant was convicted, and ownership of most pets is not itself criminal. Defendant argues that pet ownership additionally is not reasonably related to future criminality, and thus the notification condition is invalid under the test set forth in Lent. (Lent, supra, 15 Cal.3d 481.) The Court of Appeal majority disagreed, holding that this condition is reasonably related to deterring future criminality, because it provides information that is useful for effective probatiоn supervision. For example, a pet can threaten a probation officer‘s safety during a probation visit, distract an officer attempting to conduct a probation search, or prevent the officer from entering a probationer‘s residence in the first instance. The appellate court majority also upheld this condition as facilitative of the search condition, a term of probation that defendant does not challenge. We agree with the Court of Appeal majority that the notification condition in question is reasonably related to the supervision of defendant and hence to his rehabilitation and рotential future criminality.
The condition requiring notification of the presence of pets is reasonably related to future criminality because it serves to inform and protect a probation officer charged with supervising a probationer‘s compliance with specific conditions of probation. As noted above, to ensure that a probationer complies with the terms of his or her probation and does not reoffend, a probation officer must be able to properly supervise that probationer. Proper supervision includes the ability to make unscheduled visits and to conduct unannounced searches of the probationer‘s residence. Probation officer safety during these visits and searches is essential tо the effective supervision of the probationer and thus assists in preventing future criminality. Therefore, the protection of the probation officer while performing supervisory duties is reasonably related to the rehabilitation of a probationer for the purpose of deterring future criminality.
There are several ways in which notification concerning pets contributes to the safety of probation officers. Animals can be unpredictable and potentially dangerous when faced with a stranger in their territory, and some pose a great or even life-threatening hazard to persons in these circumstances.1 Being informed at all times of the pets that are present at a probationer‘s residence thus reduces the possible threat to the probation officer‘s safety by enabling the officer to be aware of, and prepared for, situations that may arise should the officer choose to conduct an unscheduled “compliance visit” to the probationer at his or her residence.
Reporting the presence of pets to a probation officer is a simple task, imposes no undue hardship or burden, and is a requirement that clearly falls within the bounds of reason. Although some pets may be so innocuous that they could not possibly interfere with a probation officer‘s performance of his or her duties, it would be unreasonablе and impractical to leave it to a probationer to decide which pets could interfere with an officer‘s supervisory duties, or to require a trial court to define the type, nature, and temperament of every animal that a probationer must report. On the other hand, it is reasonable to place the burden on a probationer to inform the probation officer which animals are present at his or her residence; the probation officer then can decide which precautions, if any, to take.
Defendant claims that this notification condition restricts his ability to own a pet. A probation condition should be given “the meaning that would appear to a reasonable, objective reader.” (Bravo, supra, 43 Cal.3d at p. 606.)
Because the condition literally encompasses the gamut of pets from puppies to guppies, we observe, as did the Court of Appeal majority, that this term of probation does not “authorize a probation officer to irrationally or capriciously exclude a pet.” (See, e.g., Kwizera, supra, 78 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1240–1241 [probation department‘s authority to ensure compliance with terms of probation does not authorize irrational directives by probation officer].)2 In the present case, it is not alleged that any probation officer has taken any action restricting defendant‘s ability to own or keep a pet at his residence. It therefore is speculative on this record to define the scope of a probation officer‘s supervisory authority under the notification condition in responding to a notice concerning a pet. Defendant challenges the condition on its face, but on its face the condition simply requires notification that reasonably provides the probation officer with information designed to assist in the supervision of defendant while he is on probation. What action the officer may choose to take once he or she receives information concerning a pet—whether to be accompanied by animal control officers during any search, to request that defendant detain or relocate a pet during a search, or to petition the trial court for modification of the terms of defendant‘s probation—is beyond the scope of а facial attack on the notification condition itself.
Defendant suggests that a “less burdensome” and more “carefully tailored” condition would be to require the probation officer to contact defendant prior to making a compliance visit in order to determine whether defendant possesses any pets or, if making an unannounced probation-compliance check, to require the officer to request that all animals on the property be restrained prior to the officer‘s entry into the residence. These alternatives would interfere with the effectiveness of unannounced compliance visits and searches. The probation officer must be able to visit defendant and search his residence without any advance notice or restriction, so as to be able to ascertain whether he is complying with the other terms of his probation. More importantly, the relevant test is reasonableness (Lent, supra, 15 Cal.3d at p. 486), and defendant does not persuasively explain why it is unreasonable
Finally, defendant argues this notification provision deprives him and other probationers of due process of law. As we have acknowledged, “[a] probation condition that imposes limitations on a person‘s constitutional rights must closely tailor those limitations to the purpose of the condition to avoid being invalidated as unconstitutionally overbroad.” (In re Sheena K. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 875, 890; see also People v. Smith (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 1245, 1250; People v. Jungers (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 698, 704; In re Byron B. (2004) 119 Cal.App.4th 1013, 1016.)
On the other hand, we have observed that probation is a privilege and not a right, and that adult probationers, in preference to incarceration, validly may consent to limitations upon their constitutional rights—as, for example, when they agree to warrantless search conditions. (People v. Ramos (2004) 34 Cal.4th 494, 506; Bravo, supra, 43 Cal.3d at p. 609; see also People v. Medina (2007) 158 Cal.App.4th 1571, 1580 [“a suspicionless search pursuant to a probation search condition is not prohibited by the Fourth Amendment“]; Balestra, supra, 76 Cal.App.4th at pp. 68–69 [upholding a probаtion condition requiring submission to alcohol and drug testing at the discretion of the probation officer]; People v. Lopez (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 615, 628–629 (Lopez) [upholding a probation condition prohibiting association with known gang members].)
Defendant, relying primarily upon decisions that govern probation conditions limiting rights of association and speech protected by the First Amendment (see, e.g., Lopez, supra, 66 Cal.App.4th at p. 615), contends that the condition requiring notification of the presence of pets is overbroad. He invites us to determine whether the condition is closely tailored to achieve its legitimate purpose of rehabilitating defendant and protecting the probation officer. We do not apply such close scrutiny in the absence of a showing that the probation condition infringes upon a constitutional right. As noted, absent such a showing, this court simply reviews such a condition for abuse of discretion, that is, for an indication that the condition is “arbitrary or capricious” or otherwise exceeds the bounds of reason under the circumstances. (Carbajal, supra, 10 Cal.4th at p. 1121.)
Attempting to identify a relevant constitutional right, defendant contends that the condition requiring notification of the presence of pets unconstitutionally deprives him of a property right without due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. This claim is without merit. Putting aside the
Defendant also asserts a constitutionally protected interest in sharing his home with any animal of his choice. Again, putting aside the doubtful proposition that such associational rights exist (see, e.g., Nahrstedt v. Lakeside Village Condominium Assn. (1994) 8 Cal.4th 361, 388 [“There is no federal or state constitutional provision . . . that confers [on persons involved in common interest developments] a general right to keep household pets . . . .“]), we observe that defendant has raised a faсial challenge to a probation condition that merely requires notification of the presence of pets, and that does not provide for the probation department‘s approval or removal of any pet in his home. Defendant proffers no reason for us to conclude that a notification requirement implicates any associational rights, even assuming such rights exist.4
The concurring and dissenting justice in the appellate court, without referring specifically to constitutional principles, expressed the view that “the provision is overbroad.” Although acknowledging that “prоbation requires careful supervision by a probation officer” and that “a probation search may occur at defendant‘s premises,” this justice asserted that “the term and condition of probation relative to the ownership of pets and the notification of the existence of such pets should be limited to dogs and/or pets which pose a risk of injury to individuals entering the premises. In that the condition is not so limited, it is overbroad.” The dissenting opinion makes a similar argument in this court. Setting aside the difficulty of administering a standard that would depend upon the subjective judgment of the probationer or the probation officer concerning which pеts “pose a risk of injury,” we note the fallacy of this argument insofar as it relies upon principles applicable to probation conditions that impair constitutional rights, while failing to identify any constitutional right impaired or infringed by the notification condition
III.
For the reasons discussed above, wе conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the condition that defendant, as a term of his probation, notify his probation officer of the presence of any pets at defendant‘s place of residence. The judgment of the Court of Appeal is affirmed.
Baxter, J., Werdegar, J., Chin, J., and Corrigan, J., concurred.
KENNARD, J., Dissenting.—Defendant pled guilty to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level in excess of 0.08 percent by weight. (
In granting probation, a trial court may in its discretion impose reasonable conditions. (
Here, there is no relationship between the pet probation condition and defendant‘s “drunk driving” conviсtion. Nor is it criminal conduct to have a pet. With respect to the third factor—whether the condition has a reasonable relationship to future criminality—the majority‘s answer is a resounding “yes.” I disagree.
As the majority sees it, any probation condition that makes it easier for a probation officer to supervise a probationer is one that reasonably relates to deterring future criminality and thus is valid. (See maj. opn., ante, at p. 378
The flaw in the majority‘s reasoning is that it treats all pets alike. The majority‘s concern is that some pets may “pose a great or even life-threatening hazard to persons . . . .” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 381.) Most pets do not fall into that category. Yet thе majority, in upholding the probation condition, treats any pet as potentially “life threatening.” Falling within that reach would be Jaws the goldfish, Tweety the canary, and Hank the hamster, hardly the kinds of pets one would expect to strike fear in a probation officer. The majority‘s safety concern could easily be met by a more limited probation condition related to the keeping of dangerous animals.
The majority expresses concern that pets may warn the probationer of the probation officer‘s presence, thereby interfering with unannounced visits and searches. I find that concern puzzling for two reasons. First, the probation condition does not solve the problem the majority poses because the probationer need only give notice that he or she has a pet; nothing in the condition prohibits probationers from having a pet. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 382–383.) Second, warning the probationer is irrelevant, because a probation officer cannot just barge into a probationer‘s residence. The law requires knocking or other means of notice of the officer‘s presence, and an announcement of the purpose of the visit. (People v. Mays (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 969, 973, fn. 4; see
Because it treats all pets alike, the San Bеrnardino County probation condition requiring petitioners to notify their probation officers of all pets at their residences, and of any change in the status of those pets, is overbroad and thus invalid. Most pets—including domestic cats, tropical fish, and song birds like canaries—present no conceivable risk of impairing or interfering with probation supervision. Indeed, the overbroad pet notification condition may itself interfere with achievement of probation‘s rehabilitative goals
Moreno, J., concurred.
