People v. Scott

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 24, 2019
DocketD073523
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Scott (People v. Scott) 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. Scott, (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

Filed 5/3/19; pub. order 5/24/19 (see end of opn.)

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D073523

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. PLBB0640)

RICHARD AUSTIN,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County,

Lorna A. Alksne, Judge. Reversed.

Aurora Elizabeth Bewicke, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney

General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal and Collette C.

Cavalier, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Richard Austin appeals an order finding him in violation of a special condition of

parole (condition 25) restricting him from contacting the "crime victim(s)" in case No.

SCE350433, specified as "Lisa [H.] or Brent [M.]" According to Austin, a later order in

case No. SCE350433 made clear that the "crime victim" in that case was Brent, not Lisa.

He claims this order had a preclusive effect as to the meaning of parole condition 25, or

at a minimum that condition 25 was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Austin does

not contend a properly worded no-contact condition restricting contact with Lisa would

be invalid. Rather, he argues that the condition is vague as written, particularly in light

of the finding in the underlying case that Lisa was never a protected party. As we

explain, we find that contention meritorious on our record and reverse the order.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In May 2015, Austin was charged with several offenses arising out of a domestic

violence incident involving his girlfriend Lisa H. and an assault on Lisa's adult son

Brent M. the following day. He pleaded guilty to a single count, assault by means likely

to produce great bodily injury as to Brent (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(4)), and admitted a

prior serious felony conviction.1 All remaining counts and allegations were dismissed.

During sentencing, the court struck the prior strike and placed Austin on formal

probation for three years. It did not impose a condition restricting contact with Lisa at

that time. When the probation order listed a no-contact restriction (condition 10j),

prompting Austin's later arrest for contacting Lisa, the court found no violation, stating

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 "[t]here is no protective order in this case" and deleting condition 10j from the order

granting probation.

Austin later tested positive for controlled substances, violating the terms of his

probation. In September 2016, defense counsel sought reinstatement of probation, while

the prosecution requested a three-year middle term. The court revoked probation,

sentencing Austin to three years with credit for time served. After Austin appealed, we

remanded for the sole purpose of clarifying the court's ruling during sentencing. (People

v. Austin (Aug. 15, 2017, D071255) [nonpub. opn.].)

Austin was released on parole in July 2017. He acknowledged receiving notice of

the general and special conditions of his parole. Among the special conditions of parole

was condition 25:

"You shall not contact or attempt to contact your crime victim(s): [No.] SCE350433 PC 245[](a)([4]) Assault w/Force Likely to Produce GBI Lisa [H.] or Brent [M.] . . . 'No contact' means no contact in any form, whether direct or indirect, personally, by telephone, by writing, electronic media, computer, or through another person, etc."2

In October 2017, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

(CDCR) filed a parole revocation petition (§ 1203.2, subd. (b)(1)), alleging Austin had

violated the terms of his parole by contacting Lisa and using drugs. Austin waived an

evidentiary hearing and was ordered to serve 120 days in custody for both violations.

2 Special parole condition 24 barred Austin from traveling near where "your victim(s)" Lisa or Brent lived, worked, or attended classes. Likewise, condition 26 barred him from harassing, stalking, or committing further crimes against "the victim(s)" Lisa or Brent. These related conditions are not at issue on appeal. 3 On December 6, 2017, the court in case No. SCE350433 held a hearing following

remittitur to clarify the sentence imposed. The court indicated it had revoked probation

in September 2016, sentenced Austin to three years in state prison, and given him credit

for time served. It further clarified "for any parole officer" that there was no protective

order in place: probation condition 10j barring contact with Lisa had been deleted.

Defense counsel asked the court to make it "crystal clear for the future parole agent who

supervises Mr. Austin, that the victim in this case was Brent [M.], . . . not Lisa [H.]" The

prosecutor agreed that the victim was Brent, not Lisa. The court stated, "Okay. The

record and the minute order will reflect that." It went on to explain that Brent was no

longer a protected party and Lisa "should never have been a protected party." Consistent

with these findings, the minute order stated: "Protective order is no longer in effect

against Brent [M.] The court finds Lisa [H.] was never a protected party."

Austin failed to report to his parole agent within 24 hours of being released from

custody. CDCR filed a parole revocation petition, prompting the court to impose a 16-

day sentence in mid-December. Austin and Lisa got married on December 27, and he

was arrested on January 4, 2018 for violating parole condition 25. CDCR filed another

parole revocation petition. This time, Austin requested an evidentiary hearing.

On January 29, 2018, the court heard testimony from Lisa, the police officer who

arrested Austin, Austin's parole agent, and the public defender who represented Austin at

the December 6 hearing in the underlying case. Lisa testified she did not want to remain

married but did want to maintain contact and was not afraid of Austin. Lisa's account

was challenged by Hilda P., Austin's parole agent, who testified that Lisa had expressed

4 her fear of Austin several times through text messages. Hilda had seen a copy of the

December 6 minute order in the underlying case, but she and her supervisor concluded

the no-contact parole condition could be validly imposed given the nexus between Lisa

and the convicted offense. Hilda explained that the parole condition would be lifted if

Lisa wanted contact after Austin completed his anger management classes.

Austin's counsel called the public defender to the stand to explore events in the

underlying case. The court questioned the relevance of her testimony, stating, "this is not

a probation case, this is a parole case." "The fact that parole made it a condition is not

my jurisdiction. . . . They paroled him with that condition. That's what I'm stuck with."

When defense counsel stated parole condition 25 was based on a dismissed charge in the

underlying case, the court replied, "[t]hat might be an appellate issue, but he signed the

parole conditions. [¶] I don't know where the jurisdiction is, counsel. Do you know

what -- how do you change a parole condition? [¶] I can't not violate someone because a

judge in a trial court said he shouldn't have a protective order for that." The court

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Morrissey v. Brewer
408 U.S. 471 (Supreme Court, 1972)
In re Reno
283 P.3d 1181 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. Lent
541 P.2d 545 (California Supreme Court, 1975)
Roos v. Red
30 Cal. Rptr. 3d 446 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
In Re Hudson
49 Cal. Rptr. 3d 74 (California Court of Appeal, 2006)
People v. Parham
4 Cal. Rptr. 3d 609 (California Court of Appeal, 2003)
People v. ORABUENA
10 Cal. Rptr. 3d 99 (California Court of Appeal, 2004)
People v. Hackler
13 Cal. App. 4th 1049 (California Court of Appeal, 1993)
In Re Stevens
15 Cal. Rptr. 3d 168 (California Court of Appeal, 2004)
People v. Olguin
198 P.3d 1 (California Supreme Court, 2008)
Lucido v. Superior Court
795 P.2d 1223 (California Supreme Court, 1990)
People v. Martinez
226 Cal. App. 4th 759 (California Court of Appeal, 2014)
DKN Holdings LLC v. Faerber
352 P.3d 378 (California Supreme Court, 2015)
People v. Navarro
244 Cal. App. 4th 1294 (California Court of Appeal, 2016)
People v. DeLeon
399 P.3d 13 (California Supreme Court, 2017)
People v. Burgener
714 P.2d 1251 (California Supreme Court, 1986)
People v. Ochoa
191 Cal. App. 4th 664 (California Court of Appeal, 2011)
Kevin R. v. Superior Court
191 Cal. App. 4th 676 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
People v. Quarterman
202 Cal. App. 4th 1280 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
People v. Forrest
237 Cal. App. 4th 1074 (California Court of Appeal, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Scott, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-scott-calctapp-2019.