In re Trummer

388 P.2d 177, 60 Cal. 2d 658, 36 Cal. Rptr. 281, 1964 Cal. LEXIS 275
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 14, 1964
DocketCrim. No. 7413
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 388 P.2d 177 (In re Trummer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Trummer, 388 P.2d 177, 60 Cal. 2d 658, 36 Cal. Rptr. 281, 1964 Cal. LEXIS 275 (Cal. 1964).

Opinion

SCHAUER, J.

This matter is before us on an order to show cause issued upon an application for writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of George Joseph Trummer (hereinafter referred to as petitioner) who is presently on parole from the California Rehabilitation Center under an order for commitment as a narcotics addict entered by the superior court pursuant to article 2, chapter 11, title 7, of part III of the Penal Code (in particular, § 6451, which deals with commitment to that facility of a person convicted of “any crime in any superior court”).

Petitioner first contends that chapter 11, title 7, part III, of the Penal Code is unconstitutional because (a) it imposes criminal penalties for an illness—narcotics addiction—and (b) it commits petitioner to the custody of the chief penal officer of the state. These and similar contentions were considered in In re De La O (1963) 59 Cal.2d 128, 137 [1] - 148 [11] [28 Cal.Rptr. 489, 378 P.2d 793], where, for the reasons set forth in our opinion in that case, they were rejected as being without merit.

Petitioner also contends that he should be released from parole because he is no longer addicted to narcotics, and the state may not detain a civilly committed addict after he has [660]*660been “cured.” As will hereinafter be explained, this contention is without merit.

More serious, however, are petitioner’s further contentions that his parole conditions are unreasonable because they are the same as those which are imposed in the case of felony paroles,1 and that his constitutional rights under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment have been violated because he was denied a jury trial in his commitment proceedings while a jury trial is provided for persons committed to the same program under different statutes.2 We have concluded that these last two contentions are meritorious, but, although petitioner is entitled to a jury trial on the issue of his addiction as of the time of his commitment and to modification of his conditions of parole, he is not presently entitled to release from parole.

Petitioner was committed in the following manner: On August 31, 1961, he appeared in superior court and pleaded guilty to an information charging forgery of a narcotics prescription in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11715. Violation of this section may be a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the sentence, if any, imposed. Unless a misdemeanor sentence is entered the offense provisionally stands as a felony, but nevertheless if probation is granted without pronouncement of sentence the probationer retains his ordinary civil rights. (People v. Banks (1959) 53 Cal.2d 370, 386-387 [17] [1 Cal.Rptr. 669, 348 P.2d 102].) After receiving petitioner’s plea of guilty, the court suspended the criminal proceedings without entry of judgment and directed the sheriff to file a petition to ascertain whether or not petitioner was a narcotics addict within the meaning of Penal Code section 6451. A hearing was held as provided for by the latter statute, and petitioner was adjudged a narcotics addict and duly committed to the custody of the Director of Corrections. After 10 months of treatment petitioner was paroled from the California Rehabilitation Center. This is his status at the present time.

Release from Parole ■. Petitioner contends that he is [661]*661entitled to immediate release from his parole3 because he is no longer addicted to narcotics, and that the state may not detain him after he has been cured. This contention might have merit if the only objective of the program were to obtain a temporary “cure” of addiction. However, the purpose is not only to treat and “cure” addicts, it is also to rehabilitate them. (Pen. Code, § 6400.) Experience with past programs of this nature has shown that a lack of followup supervision results in a high rate of relapse. (Final Report of the Special Study Commission on Narcotics (1961), pp. 22-23; Winick, Narcotics Addiction and Its Treatment (1957) 22 Law & Contemp. Prob. 9, 23-24.) The present “parole” (outpatient) system is designed to overcome this defect by providing the necessary followup through counseling, testing for narcotic use, and immediate return for further treatment if a relapse should occur. As pointed out in In re De La O (1963) supra, 59 Cal.2d 128, 145 [10], “These rules appear to be designed to meet the particular needs of an addict in the later stages of the process of rehabilitation. ”

Thus, although petitioner currently may give every appearance of being “cured” of his addiction, it is within the constitutional power of the Legislature to require that a person once committed as a narcotics addict remain under supervision for a period sufficient to give reasonable assurance against relapse. The time during which a relapse could occur cannot be determined precisely, and we cannot state that the three-year minimum period of parole (in effect and now designated, out-patient status) here established by the Legislature is an unreasonable one.

Conditions of Parole: Petitioner rightfully contends that certain conditions of his parole are unreasonable and unlawful insofar as he is thereby deprived of his civil rights. Petitioner’s Agreement of Parole provides in part: “12. Civil Rights: Your civil rights have been suspended by law. You may not marry, engage in business, nor sign certain contracts unless your Parole Agent recommends, and the Adult Authority approves restoring such Civil Rights to you. There are some Civil Rights affecting your everyday life [662]*662which the Adult Authority has restored to you. BUT, you may not exercise these without first getting written approval from your Parole Agent. You should talk to your Parole Agent about your Civil Rights to be sure you do not violate this condition of your parole.” The Attorney General acknowledges that petitioner’s Agreement of Parole contains exactly the same conditions as the agreement used in the parole of a felon. As the Attorney General further concedes, the purported deprivation of petitioner’s civil rights is improper. Although the Adult Authority may restrict the civil rights restored to a paroled felon (as provided in Pen. Code, § 2600) petitioner is not under sentence as a felon and hence cannot be deprived of such rights. (People v. Banks (1959) supra, 53 Cal.2d 370, 386-387 [14, 15, 16, 17].) Furthermore, deprivation of his civil rights in the circumstances here would be a form of punishing petitioner, and such punishment of a narcotics addict who has been civilly committed for treatment would constitute a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. (Robinson v. State of California (1961) 370 U.S. 660, 666-667 [82 S.Ct. 1417, 8 L.Ed.2d 758, 762-763]; In re De La O (1963) supra, 59 Cal.2d 128, 136.)4 The remaining conditions of petitioner’s parole agreement appear to be reasonably supportable as necessary for adequate supervision over his rehabilitation.

Right to Trial by Jury. In In re De La O (1963) supra, 59 Cal.2d 128, 150 [14], we pointed out that “The commitment procedures set up by the subject statute [here, Pen.

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Bluebook (online)
388 P.2d 177, 60 Cal. 2d 658, 36 Cal. Rptr. 281, 1964 Cal. LEXIS 275, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-trummer-cal-1964.