People v. Murillo

171 Cal. App. 4th 210, 89 Cal. Rptr. 3d 530
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 18, 2009
DocketH032409
StatusPublished

This text of 171 Cal. App. 4th 210 (People v. Murillo) 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
People v. Murillo, 171 Cal. App. 4th 210, 89 Cal. Rptr. 3d 530 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

171 Cal.App.4th 210 (2009)

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
ANGELINA MARIE MURILLO, Defendant and Appellant.

No. H032409.

Court of Appeals of California, Sixth District.

February 18, 2009.

*213 Jonathan Grossman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Appellant for Defendant and Appellant Angelina Marie Murillo.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Assistant Attorney General, Seth K. Schalit and Sharon Wooden, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent The People.

*214 OPINION

RUSHING, P. J.—

I. INTRODUCTION

In this case, we conclude that a probation condition requiring the probationer to take any and all medication prescribed by her doctor is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.

II. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Defendant Angelina Marie Murillo pleaded no contest to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. (Pen. Code, § 261.5, subd. (c).)[1] Under a plea agreement, the court dismissed a prior strike conviction allegation and placed her on probation. Among her conditions of probation, defendant was barred from possessing or consuming alcohol or being where alcohol is the major item sold. She was also required to enter and complete counseling and take any and all medication prescribed by her doctor. On appeal from the judgment, defendant challenges the alcohol-related condition and the requirement that she take prescribed medication.

(1) We agree that the medication requirement is defective, reverse the judgment, and remand the case for the court to reconsider it.

III. BACKGROUND

At 8:30 a.m. on June 23, 2007, a San Jose Police Department officer served a warrant at the residence of the 16-year-old male victim. At the time, the officer observed that defendant, who is 21 years old, and the victim were lying together under a blanket in their underwear. Defendant explained to the officer that she had been having a relationship with the victim that included sexual intercourse since August 2006. The victim and the victim's mother confirmed this fact. Defendant admitted knowing the victim's age and conceded that her conduct was wrong.

In her statement in the probation report, defendant said that after first learning the victim's age, she did not think having a sexual relationship was a "serious ... thing." However, she now regretted that she did not immediately end it when she learned his age. She explained, "I am no longer self-medicating, and I am communicating with my family more, not holding stuff inside."

*215 Concerning her self-medication, defendant admitted having an extensive history of substance abuse that began at age 12 with daily use of alcohol and marijuana. At age 14, she was using methamphetamines and LSD daily, and her use continued until recently. At age 15, she started using PCP and ecstasy. She stopped using ecstasy after an overdose. At age 19, she started using cocaine, and at age 20, she experimented with mushrooms. She reported that marijuana is her drug of choice, and she considers herself to be an alcoholic.

Defendant further explained that as a juvenile, "she used to injure herself by cutting on her arms, the last occurrence when she was 17-years-old." She also said she had been diagnosed with "ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], Bi-Polar Disorder, and asthma. She stated she uses an inhaler for her asthma, but is not undergoing treatment or taking medication for ADHD or Bi-Polar Disorder."

Defendant said that she wanted an opportunity to show the court and her family that she can change and considered her situation a "wake-up call." Defendant had been living with her grandparents and caring for her four-year-old daughter. She said that she did not want to be like the women she saw in jail who were unable to provide for their children. Instead, she hoped to get her high school diploma, get a better job, and move into her home.

In his evaluation of the case, the probation officer observed that defendant understood that her conduct was wrong, accepted responsibility for it, and expressed remorse. He noted that defendant was trying to rid herself of drugs and was seeking help for her alcohol addiction. Under the circumstances, he recommended a minimum jail sentence, and "[b]ecause the defendant indicated a drug and alcohol history and has asked for help with her alcoholism, it is also recommended that the defendant receive the full compliment [of] substance abuse conditions."

At sentencing, defense counsel objected to three of the numerous recommended probation conditions on the ground they were not reasonably related to the offense or future criminality. One condition required chemical testing; another prohibited possession or consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs and knowingly being where illegal drugs are used or sold or alcohol is the major item of sale; and the third required defendant to enter and complete a substance abuse treatment program.

Given defendant's admitted history of drug and alcohol abuse, the court overruled the objection, explaining that the condition barred her from going *216 to "bars, clubs, liquor stores, and places like that, while you're on probation." On its own motion, the court also imposed a condition requiring that defendant "enter and complete psychological counseling as directed by probation, and take any and all medications as prescribed by your physician." After reciting the various probation conditions, the court asked defendant whether she understood and agreed to them, and she said she did.

IV. THE ALCOHOL-RELATED CONDITION

Defendant contends that the court abused its discretion in imposing the alcohol-related condition. She argues that because her crime did not involve the use of alcohol, the condition is not reasonably related to her current offense or future criminality.

Probation is governed by section 1203.1, which provides in pertinent part: "The court or judge thereof, in the order granting probation, may suspend the imposing or the execution of the sentence .... [¶] ... [¶] The court may impose and require ... reasonable conditions, as it may determine 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, and that should the probationer violate any of the terms or conditions imposed by the court in the matter, it shall have authority to modify and change any and all the terms and conditions and to reimprison the probationer in the county jail within the limitations of the penalty of the public offense involved."

(2) "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....'" (People v. Lent (1975) 15 Cal.3d 481, 486 [124 Cal.Rptr. 905, 541 P.2d 545], quoting People v. Dominguez (1967) 256 Cal.App.2d 623, 627 [64 Cal.Rptr. 290].) Stated differently, "a condition of probation which requires or forbids conduct which is not itself criminal is valid if that conduct is reasonably related to the crime of which the defendant was convicted or to future criminality." (People v. Lent, supra, 15 Cal.3d at p.

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Bluebook (online)
171 Cal. App. 4th 210, 89 Cal. Rptr. 3d 530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-murillo-calctapp-2009.