STATE of Florida, Petitioner,
v.
Anthony HART, Respondent.
Supreme Court of Florida.
*590 Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Fleur J. Lobree, Assistant Attorney General, Miami, for Petitioner.
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender and Allyn Giambalvo, Assistant Public Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Clearwater, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM.
We have for review a decision of the Second District Court of Appeal which passed upon the following question certified to be of great public importance:
DOES THE SUPREME COURT'S PROMULGATION OF THE FORM `ORDER *591 OF PROBATION' IN FLORIDA RULE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE 3.986 CONSTITUTE SUFFICIENT NOTICE TO PROBATIONERS OF CONDITIONS 1-11 SUCH THAT ORAL PRONOUNCEMENT OF THESE CONDITIONS BY THE TRIAL COURT IS UNNECESSARY?
Hart v. State,
I. FACTS
On March 13, 1991, Anthony Hart was charged with attempted burglary. After a trial by jury, Hart was found guilty as charged and later sentenced as an habitual offender. The trial court imposed a split sentence of ten years in state prison, with Hart placed on probation for five years after he served half of his prison sentence. On appeal to the Second District, Hart challenged the following conditions contained in the order of probation filed on November 17, 1992:
(4) You will neither possess, carry, or own any weapon or firearm without first securing the consent of your Probation officer.
(6) You will not use intoxicants to excess; nor will you visit places where intoxicants, drugs, or other dangerous substances are unlawfully sold, dispensed or used.
(13) You shall submit to and pay for an evaluation to determine whether or not you have any treatable problem with alcohol and/or any illegal drug. If you have said problem, you are to submit to, pay for, and successfully complete any recommended treatment program as a result of said evaluation, all to be completed at the discretion of your Probation Officer.
Hart challenged the above conditions on the ground that the trial court failed to orally pronounce them at sentencing.
In its opinion, the district court affirmed the imposition of condition 13 because it found that the condition was orally pronounced at sentencing. Hart v. State,
II. LAW and ANALYSIS
A. General and Special Conditions of Probation
Rule 3.700(b), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, states in broad terms that every sentence, which, of course, may entail the imposition of conditions of probation, must be pronounced in open court.[3] For due *592 process reasons and because a defendant must make a contemporaneous objection to probation conditions at the time of sentencing, the defendant must be adequately placed on notice of conditions being imposed. Olvey v. State,
It has been held that the usual "general conditions" of probation are those contained within the statutes. Hart,
"With regard to a special condition not statutorily authorized, however, the law requires that it be pronounced orally at sentencing before it can be included in the written probation order." Id. Consequently, when a trial court sufficiently apprises the defendant of the "substance of each special condition" so that the defendant has the opportunity to object "to any condition which the defendant believes is inappropriate" the minimum requirements of due process are satisfied. Olvey,
B. Rule 3.986(e): Order of Probation Form
In 1992, the order of probation form was added to rule 3.986. See In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal ProcedureRules 3.140 and 3.986,
C. Certified Question
In 1991, this Court acknowledged that publication in the Laws of Florida or the Florida *593 Statutes gives all citizens constructive notice of the consequences of their actions. State v. Beasley,
Once defendants are charged and subject to the controlling terms of the rules of criminal procedure, we think the publication of general terms of probation in the rules provides all defendants with sufficient notice to permit an opportunity to object if probation is imposed. The rules provide the same type of notice as the probation conditions set forth in the Florida Statutes. See, e.g., §§ 948.03.034, Fla.Stat. (1993). Consistent with the purpose and policy of Beasley, we hold that all defendants facing the imposition of probation are on constructive notice of conditions one through eleven set forth in the form for order of probation, which is contained in the rules of criminal procedure. Only those "special" conditions of probation not set out in the general conditions portion of the rules need be specifically pronounced at sentencing.
III. CONCLUSION
Accordingly, we answer the certified question in the affirmative, quash that portion of the district court decision that struck general probation conditions found in the order of probation form but not announced at sentencing, and remand for proceedings consistent herewith.
It is so ordered.
GRIMES, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, KOGAN, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.
NOTES
Notes
[1] This provision forbids a convicted felon "to own or to have in his care, custody, possession, or control any firearm or electric weapon or device or to carry a concealed weapon."
[2] The same question has been certified in at least six other cases from the Second District: Hall v. State,
[3] While we recognize that for some purposes an order of probation has not been treated as a sentence, we refer to sentencing here as the imposition of any sanctions in a criminal context.
[4] We agree with the Second District's statement on the substance of an "open court pronouncement":
When special conditions of probation are imposed for the first time, these conditions can be orally explained using language which is different from the language in the order of probation. So long as the oral pronouncement is sufficient to place the defendant on notice of the general substance of each special condition and gives the defendant the opportunity to object, the minimum requirements of due process are satisfied.
Olvey,
[5] In addition to the order of probation form, forms for orders of community control and restitution were also added. See Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.986(f), (g).
[6] Under rule 3.986(a), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, the order of probation form, or a computer-generated format which duplicates the form, is to be used by all courts. However, variations from the form do not void the sentence if they are "otherwise sufficient." Id.
