CORNELIUS MURVIN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1989-04-21
No. 87-00944
CAMPBELL, C.J., and SCHOONOVER and HALL, JJ., concur.
541 So. 2d 1344 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1989) Positive Treatment
Cited by 7 cases

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Synopsis

Murvin was on probation for sexual offenses and his probation was revoked based on two alleged violations: unauthorized contact with victims and failure to file monthly reports. The court reversed the revocation, finding insufficient evidence that the first violation occurred and that the second violation lacked the required element of willfulness.


Holding

The court held that the probation revocation must be reversed because: (1) the first alleged violation did not constitute contact with the victims themselves, and the trial judge explicitly ruled the violation was not sufficiently proven; and (2) the failure to file written reports lacked sufficient evidence of willfulness, as there was confusion about whether Murvin was required to continue filing written reports after being charged with the first violation.


Headnotes

[1] A probation revocation order reciting a ground for revocation that was explicitly rejected by the trial judge in open court must be stricken from the order.

[2] A probationer's contact with the mother of the victims, rather than the victims themselves, does not constitute a violation of a probation condition prohibiting contact w…

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Key Quotes

“All right. Don't worry about it. I don't think this is broad enough. From now on, have this say 'victims, victim's family or friends or anybody remotely connected with the victims.'”

Trial judge's explicit rejection of the first violation allegation, indicating the probation condition was not sufficiently broad to cover contact with the victims' mother.

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Facts & Procedural History

Murvin pled guilty to four counts of attempted sexual battery on minors and one count of lewd assault on a child, and was placed on twelve-year probat…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant pled guilty to four counts of attempted sexual battery on persons less than twelve years of age and to one count of lewd, lascivious or indecent assault on a child under sixteen, and was placed on probation for twelve years. Condition (20) of appellant’s probation is that he have “[n]o contact with victims, direct or indirect without written permission from Probation Officer.” Subsequently, appellant's probation was revoked and he was sentenced to concurrent twelve-year sentences from which he appeals.

Appellant was charged with two violations of probation as follows:

[Probationer had contact with LaDean Gullette. In that on 6/14/86, at 2:30 a.m., he called her at her place of work. Further violated this condition on 6/24/86, approx. 9:20 p.m. by sitting in a car in front of her house and calling to her. These technical violations took place in Hillsborough County.

[T]hat as of 3/25/87, probationer’s Probation Officer, James Burke, has not received Written Monthly Reports for the months of September, October, November, December, 1986 and January, February, 1987.

At the revocation heanng, LaDean Gullette, the victims’ mother, testified to the first violation alleged above. The problem was that appellant’s contact was with the victims’ mother and not the victims themselves. The state argues that the encounter at the house was indirect contact because the victims could have seen appellant if they had looked out of the house. However, the judge ruled on this violation as follows: “All right. Don’t worry about it. I don’t think this is broad enough. From now on, have this say ‘victims, victim’s family or friends or anybody remotely connected with the victims.’ All right. We are just on the reports.” (T20). Although the order of revocation of probation recites this as one of the two grounds for revocation, it is contrary to the finding of the trial judge in open court, and that portion of the order must be stricken.

The sole remaining ground for revocation was for failure to file written monthly reports in the months specified above. All of those months were subsequent to when appellant was informed that he was being charged with violation of the condition proscribing contact with the victims. Appellant testified that he continued to report in person to the probation officer after that date and continued to make his payments. He also testified, in effect, that after he was charged with the first violation, he was led to believe that he did not have to make written reports. The probation officer testified that he never told appellant he could stop filing the written reports, but admitted that appellant continued to come into his office to meet with him at the appointed times.

We find that there was, at the least, confusion over whether appellant was to continue filing written reports. Therefore, there was not sufficient evidence of willfulness to violate this condition of probation.

Reversed.

CAMPBELL, C.J., and SCHOONOVER and HALL, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Jordan v. State, 610 So. 2d 616 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …to establish that Jordan willfully refused to pay the monthly costs of supervision in view of the probation officer’s testimony that he was not certain whether he had informed appellant that her cost obligation had been reinstated. Murvin v. State, 541 So. 2d 1344, 1345 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) (the court concluded that there was “at the least, confusion over whether appellant was to continue filing written reports,” which was insufficient evidence of willfulness). As the evidence discloses that there was confusion…
  • Burse v. State, 724 So. 2d 596 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)
    …he landlord’s return from vacation, there appears to have been a good faith effort to comply with the request. Further, where there is confusion over a duty established by a condition of probation, any violation is not willful. See Murvin v. State, 541 So. 2d 1344, 1345 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). Burse did not allow Officer Willis to enter his residence because Burse interpreted condition (9)’s statement that “[y]ou will ... allow your officer to visit in your home” to mean only his designated probation officer, Off…
  • McCormick v. Makrim Salfity, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D891 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019)

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