P. v. Stafford CA4/2

California Court of Appeal·Decided March 13, 2013·No. E055138·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 3/13/13 P. v. Stafford CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, E055138 v. (Super.Ct.No. FSB1102672) DAVID MICHAEL STAFFORD, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Kenneth Barr, Judge. Affirmed as modified.

Cynthia A. Grimm, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and Barry Carlton and Garrett Beaumont, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

On September 20, 2011, defendant and appellant David Michael Stafford pled guilty to possessing child pornography (Pen. Code, § 311.11, subd. (a)) in exchange for a grant of probation. Defendant agreed to destroy his computers and storage devices and attend sex offender treatment. On October 21, defendant was placed on formal probation for three years. Over defense counsel’s objection, the trial court imposed several terms and conditions regarding controlled substances, polygraph testing, possession of sexually explicit items, frequenting places where minors congregate, and possession of contact magazines, restraint equipment and identify concealing items. Defendant appeals, renewing his claims that the objected-to terms were improperly imposed.

I. FACTS

On September 28, 2010, defendant turned himself in and admitted downloading and possessing child pornography for the past 10 years. Defendant directed an officer to a computer located in his home office and informed the officer that he had given a second computer to a neighbor. The computer and a flash drive were taken from the residence. After contacting the neighbor, a second computer was located. The computers and flash drive were submitted into evidence. On February 2, 2011, the computers were analyzed, and 91 images of children under the age of 18 were found.

II. PROBATION CONDITIONS

Defendant challenges several of his conditions of probation.

Penal Code section 1203.1 specifically states that in granting probation, the court is to determine what conditions are “fitting and proper to the end that justice may be done, that amends may be made to society for the breach of the law, for any injury done

to any person resulting from that breach, and generally and specifically for the reformation and rehabilitation of the probationer . . . .” (Pen. Code, § 1203.1, subd. (j).) The trial court has broad discretion to select appropriate probation conditions in an individual case, those aimed at promoting rehabilitation and the protection of public safety, as expressed in Penal Code section 1203.1. (People v. Carbajal (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1114, 1120 (Carbajal).)

“The trial court’s discretion, although broad, nevertheless is not without limits: a condition of probation must serve a purpose specified in the statute. In addition, we have interpreted Penal Code section 1203.1 to require that probation conditions which regulate conduct ‘not itself criminal’ be ‘reasonably related to the crime of which the defendant was convicted or to future criminality.’ [Citation.]” (Carbajal, supra, 10 Cal. 4th at p. 1121.) Accordingly, a probation condition “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.]” (People v. Lent (1975) 15 Cal.3d 481, 486 (Lent), fn. omitted.) “This test is conjunctive—all three prongs must be satisfied before a reviewing court will invalidate a probation term. [Citations.] As such, even if a condition of probation has no relationship to the crime of which a defendant was convicted and involves conduct that is not itself criminal, the condition is valid as long as the condition is reasonably related to preventing future criminality. [Citation.]” (People v. Olguin (2008) 45 Cal.4th 375, 379-380 (Olguin).)

A. Drug Conditions The trial court imposed the following drug conditions:

“11) Neither use nor possess any controlled substance without medical prescription. A physician’s written notice is to be given to the probation officer.

“12) Submit to a controlled substance test at direction of probation officer. Each test is subject to an $11.00 fee, to be collected by Central Collections[.]

“13) Not possess any type of drug paraphernalia, as defined in [Health and Safety Code section] 11364.5(d)[.]

[¶] . . . [¶]

“16) Not associate with persons known to defendant to be illegal users or sellers of controlled substances, except for those involved in your recovery.

[¶] . . . .[¶]

“37) Attend NA/AA [Narcotics Anonymous/Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings as directed by the Probation Officer and show proof of attendance to the Probation Department.”

According to the probation report, defendant first used marijuana at the age of 18 and continued using until age 24. During those years, he used marijuana daily and used Ecstasy one time when he was 19.1 Defendant denied the use or experimentation with any other illegal drugs and denied drinking alcohol. In objecting to condition Nos. 11,

1While the first page of the probation officer’s report states that defendant used marijuana and cocaine, defendant’s statement identifies only marijuana and Ecstasy.

12, 13, and 37 (requiring attendance at NA/AA meetings),2 defense counsel argued that such conditions were not related to the crime and defendant was 55 years old and had not used illegal drugs for 31 years. The prosecution argued that due to the nature of the offense and defendant’s admitted use of drugs, it was important for probation to ensure he was not using drugs that might limit his inhibition. Although the prosecution included cocaine in the list of drugs used, such inclusion contradicts defendant’s statement to the probation officer.

Defendant contends the probation drug conditions constitute an abuse of that discretion. He further claims they are unreasonable and unconstitutional. Defense counsel failed to object to condition No. 16 (formerly condition No. 17), and the People argue error has therefore been forfeited. (In re Sheena K. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 875, 885, 889 (Sheena K.).) Defendant nonetheless argues ineffective assistance of counsel. The People have addressed the issue on the merits and, thus, we will do the same.

In this case, the record contains no indication that any controlled substance was involved in defendant’s offenses. However, condition Nos. 11 and 13 relate to conduct that is in itself criminal, and thus, may be imposed in the court’s discretion. Condition Nos. 12, 16, and 37 are more problematic. These conditions do not involve conduct that is in itself criminal, and there is no evidence that any controlled substance was involved or that defendant was associating with other illegal users or sellers of controlled substances during the commission of the offenses. The only issue, therefore, is whether

2 Initially, these conditions were numbered 12, 13, 14 and 44. After some conditions were stricken, they were renumbered.

the probation drug conditions forbid conduct that is not reasonably related to future criminality. The analysis is highly fact specific. (People v. Lindsay (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 1642, 1644 (Lindsay).)

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