RUSSELL H. JONES, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Russell Jones appealed the revocation of his community control and resulting 3.5-year prison sentence for aggravated battery. The appellate court vacated the revocation order because one of three alleged violations—failure to obtain a mental health evaluation—was based on an insufficiently specific condition and inadequate directions from his community control officer, and remanded for a new hearing on the remaining two violations.
The court held that Condition (19) lacked the necessary specificity to support a finding of willful and substantial violation because the community control officer provided inadequate directions, no guidance on costs or payment options, no list of providers, and no clarification of what type of mental health evaluation was required. The court vacated the revocation order and remanded for a new hearing to determine whether revocation is warranted based solely on the two remaining violations (Conditions 11 and 20).
[1] A condition of community control must be sufficiently specific to provide clear direction to the offender regarding compliance.
[2] A willful and substantial violation of community control must be supported by the greater weight of the evidence.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A violation which triggers a revocation of probation must be willful and substantial and the willful and substantial nature of the violation must be supported by the greater weight of the evidence.”
Establishes the standard for revocation of probation/community control violations that the court applies to Jones's case.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJones pleaded nolo contendere to aggravated battery upon his wife and was placed on community control for twelve months on September 11, 1991. On Janu…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Willful And Substantial Violation cases and more on FLexlaw
SHIVERS, Judge.
Appellant, Russell Jones, entered a plea • of nolo contendere, was adjudicated guilty of aggravated battery upon his wife, and was placed on community control for a period of twelve months on September 11, 1991. Based on an Affidavit of Violation of Community Control presented by Appellant’s community control officer, Barbara Bloom, on January 8, 1992, the trial court held a violation hearing. After determining that Appellant had violated three conditions of community control, the trial court revoked community control and sentenced Appellant to 3V2 years in state prison. Because of the lack of specificity of Condition (19) of the Judgment of Guilt Placing Defendant on Community Control and the inadequacy of the directions given by Appellant’s community control officer, we must vacate both the order revoking community control and the resulting sentence, and remand the cause for another violation of community control hearing regarding the two remaining conditions. Cf. Young v. State, 566 So. 2d 69 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) (reversing order that revoked probation for violation of a single condition requiring completion of sex offender program, where order lacked requisite specificity and record failed to show a willful and substantial violation of probation).
Appellant was ordered to comply with certain enumerated conditions and sanctions of community control, three of which are pertinent on appeal. The only disputed condition is Condition (19) stating: “You shall receive a mental health evaluation and follow any recommended treatment as directed by your Community Control Officer.” The testimony presented at the violation hearing indicates that the only direction given to Jones by Officer Bloom was on November 8, 1991, when she instructed Appellant to have a mental health evaluation appointment by the following week. Bloom provided no assistance in obtaining accurate information about fee charges and payment options for an evaluation, nor was a list of names and addresses provided to guide Jones as to whom to contact or where to go to seek an evaluation. We find nothing in the record indicating that Appellant was ever informed about the nature and scope of a “mental health evaluation.” In fact, the record shows it was unclear whether the required evaluation would involve a visit to a psychiatrist or to a psychologist.
Bloom testified that she ordinarily allows two months for an individual on twelve months’ community control to schedule an appointment. .Jones and his community control officer had no further communication until January 7, 1992, when Appellant visited Bloom’s office and informed her that he had not scheduled an appointment because he could not afford to pay the fee for an evaluation. Jones testified that he had called two psychiatrists and was told that an initial visit would cost in the range of $200-$255. At that time, Appellant had just resumed employment, and he provided evidence that his earnings for November and December 1991 had been $1,250 and $800, respectively. Jones failed to schedule an appointment based on his belief that he would have to pay the full typical fee at the time of the evaluation, so that scheduling an appointment for apparently unaffordable treatment would be futile. Bloom filed an affidavit of violation of community control based on Appellant’s failure to get an appointment.
Appellant concedes that the other violations are supported by competent evidence, but he asserts that those two violations alone do not warrant revocation of community control. They involve Condition (11) (imposing confinement to approved residence subject to specific exceptions) and Condition (20) (prohibiting contact with his wife and one of his children). “A violation which triggers a revocation of probation must be willful and substantial and the willful and substantial nature of the violation must be supported by the greater weight of the evidence.” Johnson v. State, 561 So. 2d 1254, 1255 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); McNemar v. State, 588 So. 2d 605 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (applying same test to violation of community control and reversing order revoking same). Accordingly, the issue on appeal is whether Jones violated Condition (19) willfully and substantially.
We find Young instructive on the question of whether Condition (19) was specific enough to reasonably permit Appellant to act within the time period imposed by his supervising officer. As a condition of probation, Young was ordered to complete a program for mentally disordered sex offenders. Like Appellant here, Young professed a willingness to meet the condition and took the initial steps toward compliance. Young was admitted into the program but was released due to his denial of having committed the sexual offense in question and his conflict with the program’s director. An affidavit of violation of probation was filed, but he requested a continuance of the violation hearing so that he could enter another program. Nevertheless, the trial court revoked probation based on Young’s violation of the condition. The Second District Court reversed the order and remanded the cause to the trial court for reinstatement of probation and clarification of the requirements of the condition. Id., 566 So. 2d at 70. Among the deficiencies in the probation order were the failure to specify the period within which Young had to complete the program, or how many opportunities he would have to obtain success. Id. Cf. Haynes v. State, 571 So. 2d 1380 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) (revocation of probation and community control was error, based on appellant’s failure to complete sex offender program, where order presenting conditions lacked specificity).
We find that Condition (19) of Appellant’s community control order likewise lacks the necessary specificity to direct him toward compliance. But for his perceived inability to pay the expected upfront costs of an evaluation, Appellant indicated an intent to fulfill the requirements of Condition (19). Although the trial court stated on the record that Appellant’s financial situation did not preclude him from getting an appointment, and that upon diligent inquiry Appellant could have known that the county mental health association performed evaluations on a sliding scale, we hold that Condition (19) lacks the necessary specificity for a finding of a willful and substantial violation of community control. Young; Washington v. State, 579 So. 2d 400 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991) (reversing order revoking probation, where appellant was never instructed on terms of probation, including requirement to report to probation officer).
Because Appellant concedes that the record demonstrates violations of the other two conditions, we remand the cause to the trial court for a hearing to reconsider whether revocation of community control and imposition of a 3V2 year prison sentence are still warranted absent Condition (19). See McPherson v. State, 530 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Wilson v. State, 506 So. 2d 1170 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987) (striking of one of three probation violations did not require remand for reconsideration of either the revocation or the sentence, where the appellate court was convinced that neither would be affected by the deletion of one violation). Given the seriousness and nature of the original offense (aggravated battery), we would note that the condition requiring Jones to submit to a mental health evaluation was an integral part of the rehabilitative purpose of community control.
The order revoking community control is vacated, and the cause remanded for the trial court to hold another violation hearing to consider Conditions (11) and (20). VACATING revocation order and sentence, and REMANDING for a new hearing.
SMITH and KAHN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Smith v. State, 705 So. 2d 1033 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…. 3d DCA 1987). However, it is not clear whether the court would have imposed the same sentence based solely on that violation. See Smith v. State, 664 So. 2d 72 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995); Astore v. State, 618 So. 2d 790 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Jones v. State, 611 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). We, therefore, vacate Smith’s sentence. On remand, the trial court may impose the same sentence or exercise its discretion to impose a reduced sentence. See Royster v. State, 691 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); Vezina v. State,…
-
Meeks v. State, 754 So. 2d 101 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)…and substantial before such status may be revoked in the first instance. See Howard v. [*107] State, 484 So. 2d 1232 (Fla.1986); Davis v. State, 704 So. 2d 681 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); Forchin v. State, 660 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995); Jones v. State, 611 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Harris v. State, 610 So. 2d 36 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). In my view '‘substantial” and "substantive” are synonymous terms. "Technical” and "substantial” seem to me to be antonymous terms.…
-
Johnson v. State, 890 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)…son’s judgment and sentence, and remand for correction of the written order of revocation of probation, and for resentencing. See Smith v. State, 705 So. 2d 1033 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); Astore v. State, 618 So. 2d 790 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Jones v. State, 611 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). On remand, the trial court may impose the same sentence or exercise its discretion to impose a reduced sentence. See Smith; Royster v. State, 691 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). REVERSED and REMANDED with instructions. PETERS…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Young v. State, 566 So. 2d 69 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- McPHERSON v. State, 530 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Wilson v. State, 506 So. 2d 1170 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
- Haynes v. State, 571 So. 2d 1380 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- Johnson v. State, 579 So. 2d 400 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
- Johnson v. State, 561 So. 2d 1254 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- McNEMAR v. State, 588 So. 2d 605 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)