WILLIAM NORRIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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William Norris appealed the denial of his motion to dismiss a probation violation charge and the subsequent revocation of his probation. The court affirmed the revocation but held that the probation condition requiring him to "live honorably" is impermissibly vague and should be stricken as a matter of law.
The court affirmed the probation revocation on harmless error grounds because Norris had actual notice of the specific misconduct charged (two batteries on his wife). However, the court held that any probation condition requiring a probationer to "live honorably" is impermissibly vague and overbroad and should be stricken if properly challenged.
[1] A condition of probation requiring a probationer to live honorably is too vague and uncertain to apprise him of the type of conduct which would give rise to a violation o…
[2] A probationer must be put on reasonable notice of any conduct prohibited during his term of probation.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A probationer should be put on reasonable notice of any conduct prohibited during his term of probation.”
Establishes the fundamental due process requirement for probation conditions
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceNorris was charged with maliciously punishing a child and entered a plea of nolo contendere, receiving ten years of probation. His probation included …
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ANSTEAD, Judge.
In these consolidated appeals, the appellant claims error by the trial court in denying motions to dismiss an information and an affidavit of violation of probation and in revoking his probation for an alleged violation of a term of his probation requiring him to live honorably.
Appellant was charged with maliciously punishing a child in violation of Section 827.03(3), Florida Statutes (1977). He contends that there was insufficient evidence of malice to sustain the charge. We have reviewed the record and the facts stipulated to by the parties and find no error by the trial court in denying the motion to dismiss.
After the denial of the motion to dismiss the appellant entered a plea of nolo conten-, dere and was placed on probation for a term of ten years. By the terms of his probation appellant was enjoined from violating any law and by a special condition was ordered to live honorably. Subsequently he was charged with violating the special condition requiring him to live honorably, by committing a battery upon his wife on two separate occasions. At the probation revocation hearing appellant moved to dismiss the two charges on the basis that the condition of probation requiring him to live honorably was too vague and uncertain to put him on reasonable notice of prohibited conduct. This was the first time the probationer had raised any objection to the condition. The trial court denied the motion; and after substantial proof of the alleged batteries was submitted, appellant’s probation was revoked.
In Hines v. State, 358 So. 2d 183 (Fla.1978) revocation was upheld even though the charging affidavit merely alleged that the probationer had been arrested for a felony. At Hines’ revocation hearing it was actually proven that he had committed a burglary. The Supreme Court held that although probation could not be revoked merely upon a showing of an arrest, the probationer had been given sufficient notice of the actual misconduct charged, in that case a burglary, to comply with the minimum due process requirements for probation revocation proceedings. The fact that the charging affidavit alleged an arrest, rather than the actual misconduct involved, was found to constitute harmless error:
In the present case, the written factual allegations in the affidavit for violation of probation were insufficient to provide notice to the probationer with what criminal acts he was charged. In this case, however, we find this to be harmless error since the record shows that the probationer clearly had actual notice of the charges, that he was arrested near the scene of the crime shortly after its occurrence, and that he made a confession to his involvement. There was no violation of the probationer’s due process rights. Petitioner’s probation was revoked upon adequate proof of burglary for which he was arrested by Deputy Blosser on 3/13/76. The circumstances here are not comparable to those cases in which a person’s probation has been revoked based upon proof of charges other than those with which he was notified in the affidavit of violation, (footnote omitted)
Id. at 185-186
Similarly, here, the appellant was expressly charged with violating his probation by committing two successive batteries upon his wife. The details of the batteries were set out in the charging affidavit. One of the conditions of appellant’s probation specifically prohibited him from violating the law. Both the affidavits and proof showed that he had violated the law on two occasions and hence was in violation of his probation. No contention is made, nor is there any indication in the record, that appellant was prejudiced because, rather than the charging affidavit alleging that the misconduct in question constituted a violation of the condition of probation requiring the appellant to live within the law, the affidavit instead alleged that such conduct violated the condition requiring him to live honorably. We find that the appellant had specific notice of the actual misconduct charged. Accordingly, we find any error in denying the motion to dismiss to be harmless.
Although, under the circumstances of this case, we find no harmful error by the trial court in denying the appellant’s motion to dismiss and subsequently revoking the appellant’s probation, we agree that a condition of probation requiring a proba-, tioner to live honorably is too vague and uncertain to apprise him of the type of conduct which would give rise to a violation of his probation. Hence, if properly challenged, such a condition should be stricken.
In De Stefano v. State, 377 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979), this writer expressed the view that a condition of probation requiring a probationer to live honorably was impermissibly vague and over-broad:
A probationer should be put on reasonable notice of any conduct prohibited during his term of probation. Almond v. State, 350 So. 2d 810 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); Morgan v. Foster, 208 Ga. 630, 68 S.E. 2d 583 (1952). While I am in full agreement that everyone, generally, and probationers, in particular, should conduct themselves' honorably, I believe that such a requirement is too broad and ambiguous to establish a clear guideline for the appellant’s conduct during probation. In its other provisions prohibiting violations of the law, restricting residency, etc., the order of probation more than adequately sets objective standards of conduct for the probationer. In contrast, the special provision es nothing more than a vague catch-all which is subject to varying interpretations depending on the subjective moral code of the individual.
Id. at 752
For these reasons we now expressly disapprove such a condition of probation.1
We do not believe the case of Sellers v. Bridges, 153 Fla. 586, 15 So. 2d 693 (1943), cited by the state, conflicts with the deci sion we reach today. In that case there was no direct challenge made to the condition involved herein. Rather, by way of example, the opinion set out a lengthy list of the varying terms of parole generally agreed to by parolees. The issue actually resolved in Sellers had nothing to do with the validity of those conditions, but rather concerned the validity of the underlying information by which the defendant had originally been charged.
In accordance with the above, the judgment and sentence of the trial court are hereby affirmed.
DOWNEY, C. J., and MOORE, J., concur. . Fundamental fairness requires that a defendant be placed on notice as to what he must do or refrain from doing while on probation. Hines v. State, supra.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
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Lewis v. State, 396 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)…e crime of grand theft is affirmed and this cause is remanded to the trial court to strike from the order placing appellant on probation after a period of incarceration the special condition that he live honorably at all times. See, Norris v. State, 383 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980). LETTS, C. J., and ANSTEAD and MOORE, JJ., concur.…
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Jenkins v. State, 396 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)…ent. I do not believe there is anything legally wrong with requiring a person placed on probation to live honorably. I see no reason to strike such a condition of probation in the abstract. It is my belief that we should recede from Norris v. State, 383 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980).…1 / 2
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Freiheit v. State, 458 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)…e to the charges, the various methods of discovery under our rules are available to him.” 358 So. 2d at 185, footnote omitted. This court has relied upon the Hines holding in Evans v. State, 409 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), and Norris v. State, 383 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980). In Evans probation was revoked based upon the charge of burglary, whereas the court found the probationer guilty of grand larceny and aiding and abetting. Though the substantive crimes of which appellant was convicted were not e…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Hines v. State, 358 So. 2d 183 (Fla. 1978)
- Sellers v. Bridges, 153 Fla. 586 (Fla. 1943)
- Almond v. State, 350 So. 2d 810 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)
- de Stefano v. State, 377 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979)