People v. Veal CA1/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 24, 2025
DocketA171147
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Veal CA1/5 (People v. Veal CA1/5) 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. Veal CA1/5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 9/24/25 P. v. Veal CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, A171147 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (Solano County Super. Ct. No. F23-00058) LAUREN ASHLY VEAL, Defendant and Appellant.

Lauren Ashly Veal (appellant) challenges multiple probation conditions imposed by the court following her no contest plea to one count of a lewd or lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14 (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)). We modify or strike and remand all of the challenged conditions. BACKGROUND Appellant pled no contest to one count of lewd or lascivious acts with three victims under the age of 14. According to the preliminary hearing testimony, over a period of several years, appellant sexually touched and engaged in other inappropriate sexual behavior with three of her children when they were under 14 years old. The trial court sentenced appellant to three years’ probation, issued a no-contact order and a criminal protective order protecting the victims, and imposed a number of probation conditions.

1 DISCUSSION I. Legal Background “[A] sentencing court has ‘broad discretion to impose conditions to foster rehabilitation and to protect public safety pursuant to Penal Code section 1203.1.’ ” (People v. Moran (2016) 1 Cal.5th 398, 403.) However, “the types of conditions a court may impose on a probationer are not unlimited. . . . ‘Generally, “[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 . . . .’ [Citation.]” [Citation.] 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.’ ” (Ibid.)1 In addition, “[a] probation condition . . . may be challenged as unconstitutionally vague or overbroad. [Citation.] . . . A restriction is unconstitutionally vague if it is not ‘ “sufficiently precise for the probationer to know what is required of him, and for the court to determine whether the condition has been violated.” ’ [Citation.] A restriction failing this test does not give adequate notice—‘fair warning’—of the conduct proscribed.

1 “As a rule, failure to object to a probation condition in the trial court

on standard state law or reasonableness grounds forfeits the claim for appeal.” (People v. Moran, supra, 1 Cal.5th at p. 404, fn. 7.) Defense counsel below objected to all of the challenged conditions, and the People do not contend appellant forfeited any of the reasonableness challenges raised on appeal.

2 [Citations.] A restriction is unconstitutionally overbroad, on the other hand, if it (1) ‘impinge[s] on constitutional rights,’ and (2) is not ‘tailored carefully and reasonably related to the compelling state interest in reformation and rehabilitation.’ [Citations.] The essential question in an overbreadth challenge is the closeness of the fit between the legitimate purpose of the restriction and the burden it imposes on the defendant’s constitutional rights—bearing in mind, of course, that perfection in such matters is impossible, and that practical necessity will justify some infringement.” (In re E.O. (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1149, 1153.) “Generally, we review the court’s imposition of a probation condition for an abuse of discretion. [Citations.] However, we review constitutional challenges to a probation condition de novo.” (In re Shaun R. (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1129, 1143.) II. Challenged Conditions A. Conditions Relating to Online Activity 1. Additional Background The trial court imposed a number of conditions relating to appellant’s online activities. Appellant challenges three of those conditions. The first condition challenged by appellant provides that she is “not to access or subscribe to any kind of internet service, bulletin board, local bulletin board service -- they used to be called BBS services -- from any electronic device for any reason unless approved in writing by your probation officer.” The parties agree that this condition prohibits appellant from using the internet absent prior approval from her probation officer. We will refer to this as the Internet Condition. The second challenged condition provides that appellant “[s]hall not possess any device that has access to the internet or photograph, video or

3 record audio which may include, but is not limited to, smart phones, []tablets, laptop, desktop computers, cameras, video gaming systems, internet ready TV/DVD/Blu[-r]ay players without the recommendation of the therapist and permission of the Probation Officer.” (Boldface omitted.) The trial court emphasized that “[s]mart phones can be possessed with permission of your therapist and your probation officer.” We will refer to this as the Device Condition. The third challenged condition provides that appellant “shall not use social media or any other computer media tools that allow people to create, share, or exchange information, pictures, videos, virtual communities and/or networks, or participate in social networking, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat without permission of her therapist and probation.” We will refer to this as the Social Media Condition. The trial court also imposed the following conditions relating to online activity, which appellant does not challenge: “[Appellant] shall disclose all email addresses and social network accounts to probation and provide passwords to any of those accounts within five days.” “She shall not knowingly possess or use any form of encryption software or password protection designed to delete, conceal, protect, or secure computer files or electronically stored data on media, including hard drives, optical media, and removable storage devices, from access to probation or any law enforcement agency.” “She shall not clean or delete browsing internet activity and history unless approved in writing by probation.” “She shall not knowingly engage in any real-time communication over the internet with anyone who identifies himself or herself as a minor or

4 anyone with whom the defendant knows to be a minor, including video calling services, chat, and instant messaging, unless the court or probation has allowed the defendant to communicate with that minor.” “She shall not knowingly engage in any communication over the internet, including electronic mail, with anyone concerning the current or planned possession, production, preparation, publication, exchange, exhibition, or distribution by the defendant or any party to that communication of any matter depicting a person under the age of 18 years of age engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct as described in Section 311.4 of the Penal Code.” “She shall submit to immediate search and seizure of all electronic devices under her control, i.e.[,] computers, memory storage devices, electronic mail, internet accounts, data and information contained therein with or without reasonable cause by probation or law enforcement. This would exclude online medical accounts and financial or banking accounts.” 2.

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Related

The People v. Pirali
217 Cal. App. 4th 1341 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
In Re Hudson
49 Cal. Rptr. 3d 74 (California Court of Appeal, 2006)
People v. Shaun R.
188 Cal. App. 4th 1129 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
In Re Stevens
15 Cal. Rptr. 3d 168 (California Court of Appeal, 2004)
People v. Moran
376 P.3d 617 (California Supreme Court, 2016)
People v. E.O.
188 Cal. App. 4th 1149 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)

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People v. Veal CA1/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-veal-ca15-calctapp-2025.