What is the test for enforcing a probation condition that prohibits possession of drugs?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Rodriguez, E067719 (Cal. App. 2018):

enforcing a provision that 'forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague' that people of 'common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application.' [Citations.] To withstand a constitutional challenge on the ground of vagueness, a probation condition must be sufficiently definite to inform the probationer what conduct is required or prohibited, and to enable the court to determine whether the probationer has violated the condition. [Citations.] In determining whether the condition is sufficiently definite, however, a court is not limited to the condition's text. [Citation.] We must also consider other sources of applicable law [citation], including judicial construction of similar provisions. [Citations.] Thus, a probation condition should not be invalidated as unconstitutionally vague '"'if any reasonable and practical construction can be given to its language.'"' [Citation.]" (People v. Hall (2017) 2 Cal.5th 494, 500-501.) "California case law already articulates not only a general presumption that a violation of a probation condition must be willful, but also specifically provides that probation conditions barring possession of contraband should be construed to require knowledge of its presence and its restricted nature. [Citation.]" (Id. at 501.) "A probation condition is constitutionally overbroad when it substantially limits a person's rights and those limitations are not closely tailored to the purpose of the condition." (People v. Harrisson (2005) 134 Cal.App.4th 637, 641, citing In re White (1979) 97 Cal.App.3d 141, 146 ["'. . . The Constitution, the statute, all case law, demand and authorize only "reasonable" conditions, not just conditions "reasonably related" to the

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crime committed.' [Citation.] [] Careful scrutiny of an unusual and severe probation condition is appropriate [citation]."].)

Other Questions


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Is a probation condition that prohibits a defendant from possessing firearms or illegal drugs unconstitutionally vague? (California, United States of America)
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Is a challenged probation condition that prohibits a defendant from breaching the terms and conditions of probation unconstitutional? (California, United States of America)
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