P. v. Stafford CA4/2

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 13, 2013
DocketE055138
StatusUnpublished

This text of P. v. Stafford CA4/2 (P. v. Stafford CA4/2) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
P. v. Stafford CA4/2, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

1 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

2 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).)

3 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.

4 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

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P. v. Stafford CA4/2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/p-v-stafford-ca42-calctapp-2013.